How to Get Investors…
- Comments: 4
In the past I have had several business ideas that I thought had potential. Not one of the ideas had the right mixture behind it. Now that I am on the brink, with a couple investors, it is in my best interest, and in my company’s best interest, to prepare well for our presentation. Here are 10 steps my team and I have come up with:
1. State what problem you’re solving, why is it so compelling, how you are going to solve it, and exactly how you make money doing it.
2. Fully disclose your management team. List their credentials and how they positively effect the team.
3. What is your target market? Invetsors will want to know the size and scope.
4. Give an example of the way your customers currently solve the problem.
5.Give a more detailed report on how your company solves the problem, and explain the marketing plan.
6. Disclose who, if anyone else, is contributing to the company or is associated, that might give your company a competitive advantage?
7. Who is your competition? What are their strengths and weaknesses, how do they compare to yours, and how do you plan to retain long-term sustainability?
8. Be prepared to say what you have accomplished thus far.
9. If you are going to ask for funds, be prepared to explain what the funds will be used for, disclose how you plan to be profitable and how soon. Investor will probably want to know your estimates are year over year. They might also want to know how much market share you hope to clam and by how soon.
10.Just like the article Nate Whitehill posted, you cannot be afraid to ask for what you want. Towards the end of the presentation, disclose the amount you are requesting.
I would like to hear people’s stories and recommendations. Please don’t hesitate to explain how you prepared.
To read more go to: http://www.tannedfeet.com/investor_presentation.htm
This has always been the most scary part of business for me. I’m always scared abotu the approach and asking for money. It’s rough and I’m not quite sure how to get over that hump. I’ve gone on some meetings for my friends businesses but I don’t know the first thing to do.
I’ve seen basically 2 kinds of investors:
The first kind is wowed by all the hype. They love the flash-wiz-bang ideas or “fluff” in a pitch. They usually have less money to invest, and are very on-the-fence about making a decision to move forward. But a lot of times you can put a better deal together with them because they don’t try and grind you into the ground.
The other kind cares about the numbers. And specifically the sales you have. They also look at a business from the perspective of what kind of sales volume they can bring in to it using their own connections. They usually have a lot of cash, but they don’t part with it easily. They like to grind and get a big percentage of the pie for considerably less than you want for it.
I think one big key to dealing with investors is realizing that investors WANT to invest. Especially when you’re getting started, it’s easy to think of investors as people who we need a favor from. And we’re scared of asking for favors! We’re scared of asking for money! But we need to change our mindset. We need to approach investors with a ‘you-need-this-opportunity’ attitude and not an ‘I-need-your-money’ attitude.
Yeah!! (Wrings hands)! Nice blog you have here. I’ve enjoyed much reading your last posts. Keep it that way.