Preparation to raise capital is crucial. It will make the difference between success and failure.
This step is often overlooked. If you rush and attempt to raise capital without the necessary preparation, you will learn lessons the hard way, improve over time, and eventually get where you need to be. Do you really want to be that founder with an amazing product/service who tanked their elevator pitch in front of a room of investors?
Don’t waste your time or your investors time and take the time to prepare. Prospective investors will ask tough questions and you need to be prepared to answer.
Conduct Internal & External Analysis
Analyze every aspect of your company- your team as well as their strengths and weaknesses, define your products and services, detail your target market and its sales potential, define your marketing strategy, describe how your business will operate, summarize your revenues and expenses, detail your financial projections, etc.
You can summarize all these essential details in your business plan (Learn more: How Do I Craft a Business Plan). Make sure your business plan is professional and comprehensive! It is always a great idea to get external feedback from trusted advisors before you need to present it to potential investors. Our business coaches and the SBDC provide this type of expertise on a regular basis.
Determine How Much & Why
Once you have decided you need funding, you need to determine how much funding you need and what you will do with it. The need and amount of funding directly influences which type of funding is appropriate. Venture capitalists and angel investors are the two most common types of investors.
Venture Capital Investors
Venture capitalists are part of private firms and have a pool of funds to draw on from corporations, foundations, and organizations. Venture capital investments are ideal when you want an exit in the foreseeable future, when you want industry specific expertise, and when you need larger investments than provided by angel investors.
Angel Investors
Angel investors are generally high net worth individuals who invest capital in startups in exchange for equity in the company. Angel investments are ideal when you want to raise a small amount of capital quickly with few strings attached, when you have a large personal network, and when you don’t want a board or corporate governance structure.
The right investor will depend on the investor-company fit. Investors will often specialize in a specific industry (i.e. health technology) or focus on a funding round. Typically, in the beginning, startups engage in seed funding provided by angel investors, early stage venture capitalists, and accelerators. Next, the startup may progress through Series A, B, and C funding provided by venture capitalists.
Once you know what type of investor you are looking for, you can start to seek out appropriate investment opportunities.
Finesse Your Brand & Presentation
Appearances matter and first impressions can be long lasting. Make sure your company and brand’s reputation are appealing and professional to the public.
If you have a terrible website or online presence, it is time to fix it and get professional. Even if your product and/or service needs to be further refined before going to market, a website that describes your purpose, details applicable markets, showcases your team and its expertise, and makes you look like a legitimate business can go a long way.
A professional, visually appealing brand and promotional assets will provide a better first impression and illustrate that you have begun to develop your marketing strategy.
Prepare Your Pitch
Prepare your pitch deck. Your presentation that is used to pitch your idea or company needs to excite potential investors and engage them. Typically, 10 to 15 slides detailing pertinent information on your company, team, competition, target market, milestones, financial projections, and funding needs will suffice.
Once you have your pitch deck prepared, it is time to practice! Practice makes perfect. Potential investors will judge your presentation and expect you to be confident, persuasive, and prepared for any question they throw at you. You must be prepared to rock the presentation with complete confidence while anticipating and answering every question asked about your team, company, and business plan.
Network & Connect with Investors
With the preparation complete, you can start to network and seek out investors. Start by building and expanding your network. LinkedIn can be a great way to connect with potential investors.
There are additional websites that you can use to target potential investors. For equity funding, AngelList and Wefunder are two examples.
Attend events and start building relationships. For startups based in Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Technology Council has built an extensive angel network throughout the state and helps connect startups to investors at their annual Early Stage Symposium.
Lastly, you could always apply to an accelerator for initial funding and connections to investors affiliated with the startup. GBeta is a fantastic option free accelerator for early stage startups in Wisconsin and nationwide.
Summary
To set yourself up for success when seeking funding, start by preparing to raise capital: conduct an internal and external analysis, determine how much and why, finesse your brand and online presentation, prepare your pitch, and network. By taking these five 5 steps early on, you will be setting yourself up for better odds of receiving funding.