Backers

I was talkin to buck in another thread about backers.Backers are basically people you find that will pay your buy-in for an event, then take half of your winnings. The person has to obviously have trust in your skill to be putting his money on the line.
I was wondering if anyone here has had a backer?
I was also wondering how people found backers and how did you approach them to make this deal?

I've often wondered about this as well. I always assumed it was the backers who sought out players to invest money in, after all it is their money and they'd want to be sure they found the right guy. When i think of backers though i get a picture of the Burt Gordon character in the film The Hustler, an older, rich gambler who knows all the angles and loves action but is also a bit dodgy.