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Brock Blake, CEO of FundingUniverse.com, and Bill Payne, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, discuss the details of bootstrapping your early-stage venture. Topics covered:
Your business model is ready, your plan is posted on FundingUniverse.com, and you are anxiously expecting a phone call or an e-mail from potential investors. You’re done, right? Not quite. You need to practice, practice and practice to refine and tweak your elevator pitch.
An elevator pitch is a succinct synopsis of your business plan. The purpose of the pitch is to prepare a short presentation about your company that can quickly be given over the phone, in an email or explained at moments notice.
It is crucial to develop and perfect your elevator pitch. The pitch should include two or three sentences on the following items:
If you don’t have an elevator pitch ready begin writing one ASAP. You will need to have this pitch ready every time you introduce yourself to investors or other interested parties.
In Guy Kawasaki’s book, Art of the Start, he advises entrepreneurs to pitch to an audience. The audience could be your spouse, friends, family or co-workers. After your pitch is over, ask the audience to write one sentence describing what your company does. Use the responses from the audience to further fine tune your pitch. Guy also suggests part of practicing a pitch should include videotaping yourself. If you can watch your pitch without cringing then you are ready.
For more tips on pitching read Art of the Start or contact
FundingUniverse.com at 877.638.3616.
Where do you find your deal flow? The methods used by one investor may or may not work for you. Some ways to find deals include:
These are all means for locating deal flow; however, an often overlooked resource is available to you. Universities and colleges around the country have a plethora of young talented entrepreneurs with solid business ideas. One angel group in Utah has had several successful exits, including Omniture’s recent IPO, by looking for the best deals coming out of Brigham Young University. Examples like this can undoubtedly be found in every state across the country.
When we are looking for applicants for our Speedpitching events, we contact local universities, especially those with entrepreneurial programs. FundingUniverse.com realizes the CEO’s of the next fortune 500 companies may not yet have a college degree. For example, at our most recent SpeedPitching event in Florida, the winners of the Florida International University business plan competition presented. One student, who would never have been able to meet with angels otherwise, is close to closing a deal.
Entrepreneur Magazine recently compiled a list of the top 100 entrepreneurial colleges. The top ten ranking colleges are:
To view the complete list, click here.
You may want to form relationships with directors of entrepreneurial schools at your local college or university. Directors can connect you with students who have outstanding business ideas. You can also become a supporter of entrepreneurial programs. While you may not choose to fund a plan from the university, your support and guidance could be priceless to young entrepreneurs.
Brock Blake, CEO of FundingUniverse.com, and Bill Payne, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, discuss the details of self-funding your early-stage venture.
The investment world can be a confusing and intimidating place for entrepreneurs. FundingUniverse.com realizes entrepreneurs often fail to understand what it takes to get funded.
We take our goal, of connecting investors and entrepreneurs, seriously. Part of this goal is communicating to entrepreneurs that a critical step in the funding process is education on the ins-and-outs of angel investing. This is the idea behind FundingUniversity .
In our continued efforts to provide you with the highest quality deal flow, we provide information to entrepreneurs on the following topics.
FundingUniversity.com also provides valuable information for you. The following links will provide you with extensive information on:
Again, we believe that by educating entrepreneurs, we can help them become “angel-ready.” If you have questions about FundingUniverse.com or want to know about additional ways we can help you, please contact us at 877.638.3616.
The investment world can be confusing and intimidating. Entrepreneurs who come to our site, often voice frustration about getting an investor to show interest in a business idea. FundingUniverse.com understands your frustrations.
We take our goal, of connecting investors and entrepreneurs, seriously. Part of this goal is communicating to you that a critical step in the funding process is education on the ins-and-outs of angel investing. This is the purpose of FundingUniversity.
The site provides valuable information to investors and entrepreneurs. The following links will provide you with extensive educational information:
Each area contains specific, detailed information about topics which can assist you in your search for funding. Articles, frequently asked questions, definitions, recommended business books and a plethora of other materials are available to you for FREE. Again, we truly want to help you find your angel and are willing to do what we can to connect you with investors.
If you have questions about FundingUniversity or want to know about additional ways we can help you, please contact us at 877.638.3616.
At FundingUniverse.com we have entrepreneurs who are ready to pitch. We also have entrepreneurs that are not. These entrepreneurs need to be groomed before they pitch to you. We believe a business idea is not insignificant simply because an entrepreneur needs help with a business plan or business model. An entrepreneur may need guidance from those with experience. One of our goals at FundingUniverse.com is to help entrepreneurs become “angel ready” so we can offer you the highest quality deal flow.
Undoubtedly, you have come across business plans that you were simply not interested in. The plan may lack a solid business model, market strategy or exit strategy. You may be unimpressed with the management team. These factors would cause even a novice investor to decline an investment deal.
It is important to remember that some high profile companies were initially turned down by investors. What does this mean? It means you may want to take a second look before shutting the door on an investment opportunity.
Avoid judging plans too quickly for the following reasons:
You know the business world inside and out. The knowledge you possess is priceless. Your connections and experience would make even the most confident entrepreneur hesitant. Keep this in mind. If you see potential go for a second meeting where the entrepreneur may feel more comfortable with you. Take your first impressions into consideration but allow these impressions to change. Meeting an investor can be intimidating and nerve-racking.
The business may be in an industry or market that is unfamiliar to you. If you do not have expertise in a particular field, pass the information onto another investor who may be interested.
So before you write off a business plan, take a second look. If you think a plan has potential you may want to work with the entrepreneur to get them where they should be.
Help the entrepreneur understand why you are hesitant about the plan. You can help prepare them to succeed in the future. It is often worth it to look at “middle-of-the-roaders” because you may inadvertently close the door on the next fortune 500 company.
Working at FundingUniverse.com is always exciting. One of the best things about working for this organization is the opportunity to hear business ideas from entrepreneurs across the nation. Some of the ideas are thought-out with detailed business plans and executive summaries. Then there are some that are, well, “half-baked.”
At FundingUniverse.com we understand that entrepreneurs want to get funding. Without capital, businesses cannot function. However, many times eagerness to locate capital results in haphazard and carelessly thrown together plans. Unorganized plans are extremely unappealing to investors. When presenting investors with an investment deal, you must have all your ducks in a row and those ducks had better look sharp.
Our goal at FundingUniverse.com is to connect investors and entrepreneurs. We want entrepreneurs to have all of the tools necessary to avoid presenting “half-baked” deals to investors. Investors are generally difficult to reach and even more difficult to impress. You must present them with a solid executive summary and business plan. You need to anticipate and answer all questions or concerns. You will be able to do these things if you have put in the time and resources to put your best foot forward.
There are several things you can do to present investors with a well organized business deal. Here are just a few:
1. Begin the fund-raising process early. Do not force or be in a rush to find funding. Investors will pick up on this fact and it may result in bad deal terms. This process can take quite a bit of time.
2. Get help. There are people and resources that can help you with your business plan. FundingUniverse.com offers affordable and customizable packages/consulting services that can help you get where you need to be.
3. Get advocates or mentors. Find someone “in the investor know” to be on your side. They can be an advocate and help open doors that would have been closed otherwise.
Preparation is what it comes down to. By doing your homework you will save time, money, and your reputation! Again, please contact us at 877.638.3616 if you have any questions about how we can help you be “Angel-Ready.”
