Lost Job Start Business

With the success of Y-Combinator many Business Angels and Venture Capitalists are changing the way they invest in start-up companies.

You must be ultra prepared when you are pitching to investors. However, being prepared means more than just being prepared for the meeting. You must prepare your business to a level that gives investors confidence in you and your team, shows a market for your product, and indicates that your business can scale to a level that will give an appropriate return for investors.

If you had the option of placing a bet either before the race starts or half way through it, what would you choose? Obviously, you would choose to place the bet half way through.

You should avoid a 45 minute bullet pointed snore-fest at all costs. Keep it simple. Use plenty of pictures and graphs.

The US VC industry has been the global shining light for start-up investment. Now times look at lot bleaker. The smallest number of funds have been raised in 15 years.

Here is a slideshow that shows the truth behind business plans. I hope you enjoy. The Truth Behind Business Plans Slideshow

When pitching investors all is not as it initially seems. Top level investors will engage you on many levels. They will ask you awkward questions in order to observe your response. It’s up to you to exude confidence and be able to handle anything that they throw at you. Your body language to your tone [...]

This certainly applies to VCs. If you contact them directly or send in a business plan you are wasting your time. They rely on recommendations from attorneys, CPAs and trusted advisers. You have to go through these to get to the VC.

Research from the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland shows that entrepreneurs need not worry about writing an in-dept business plan to get funding from VCs. The research shows that business plans play an insignificant role in the decision making process of Venture Capitalists.

Wow! there has been absolutely no Venture Capital backed IPOs in the first quarter of 2009 according to the National Venture Capital Association.