"Trust Me" . . . isn't enough for most banks when it comes to lending to high-tech start-ups. How to cozy up to bankers and get the financing you need

In spite of all the announcements that splashy start-ups and young technology firms are grabbing megabuck investments, money to launch an Internet business isn't exactly dropping out of the sky. This is particularly true for women and minorities, who together get less than 4 percent of venture capital even though collectively, they're opening small businesses much faster than other groups.

So what options are out there for entrepreneurs who fall outside the radar screen of venture capitalists and angels? Can they go to banks? Maybe.

An informal Business Start-Ups survey of some of the nation's largest or most notable banks found that most do not lend to Internet start-ups and have no intention of doing so in the future. There is, however, a handful of banks that have taken on this volatile business segment, and they're doing so with a lending model that's definitely outside the banking norm.