Winning Investors: A Financial Planning Guide for Start-ups
If you’ve got the idea, you’ve got the business but have hit a rock on the funding, it shouldn’t get you down. You’re going to need all the money you can get, so knowing what investors are looking for could make preparations for meeting and presenting to potential venture capitalists easier, honestly much less nerve-wracking, and a lot more profitable for you.
In this context, investors include both family and friends who would like to support you in the initial stages. People (whether invested in your wellbeing or not) appreciate a serious person who comes across as having thought their ideas through and prepared for the work ahead. No better way to prove that than to have an iron clad business and financial plan.
First thing you should know are the seemingly tiny details about your start-up. Walk them through what your process of transacting business with another client is normally like.
Investors also recognise effort and strategy, so do your start-up a solid by providing contextual projections and visions for the next couple of years. Spend your preparation time making sure you’re up to speed on market trends in your niche. Venture capitalists or investors appreciate foresight into market trends and how these trends will realistically show where your startup is headed.
One last thing you should know if you’re securing capital funding for your startup is that once you’ve gotten funded, be smart about your spending. Manage your funds so that you don’t have to go back to ask investors for more money. That just makes you look bad.
Going out on your own to secure capital for your startup can induce the nerves, and many business owners choose to avoid this altogether by handing the tedious work to professionals. But if you’re ready and prepared, it wouldn’t be that much of a different outcome if a professional Financial Advisor handled it. You’ve got the facts, you know the trends. Go get ‘em.