I'm raising startup financing to pay myself and my team to build the product

Investors aren't interested in providing startup financing to pay you in the hopes that you might develop something that might be profitable--you need to figure out your own financial situation by yourself. Startup financing should be used to purchase essential equipment or software that directly improves sales, marketing, and the bottom line.

Measurable results

Investors want to see measurable results that come from their funds. They also want to help protect their investment by hedging risks wherever possible. With that in mind, in only makes sense that they prefer to fund advertising and marketing campaigns such as cost-per-click advertising through sites like Google or Overture. The results are completely trackable and it's very easy for an investor to evaluate whether or not the campaign is providing the desired returns. Investors don't want to fund salaries!

Why not salaries?

Investors are not interested in paying you or your staff, they are interested in growing the business. You'll have to work out your own financial troubles by yourself. If you're really confident in your business and you have what it takes to execute on the plan, you'll find some way to support yourself until the business can afford to compensate you. More than one entrepreneur has survived off of peanut butter sandwiches and Ramen noodles for many months or even a few years until the business was able to compensate them.

Investors tend to fund the purchase of assets that directly impact profits and have a resale value of their own. The main reason for this is that equipment and other hard assets can be sold to help recoup an investment if your venture goes south. You can't be sold--well, not really anyway. Also, it's difficult to say exactly how much any single person (yourself included) is contributing to the profitability of the company. If they paid you less money would you be just as productive? Who really knows! And investors don't want to get involved in this type of guess work.