Mike Will Downey

Investors are smart people. They are constantly looking for good investment opportunities. The best way to get the attention of investors is to come up with a really good, disruptive idea. Document it well, develop compelling strategies for taking it to market, and build a top quality management team with a blend of entrepreneurial enthusiasm and past success - all managed by a high-quality CEO with a track record of previous success. Investors are risk-aware, so you need to do everything you can to reduce the risk of your proposition. Prove the concept, develop your product, make a few sales. Create a happy pill for a survey contract for a few happy customers. The farther you can take the company without capital, while reducing risk and creating value, the better your chances of raising equity capital and the higher your evaluation is likely to be. Think like a Venture Capitalist, you must get inside their head and understand the frequent stumbles and pitfalls in business plans ...

Business Planning is a process in which you have to really hone in on your business and get to the point. This way investors, customers, employees, and partners can quickly understand your product or service. Below I will share my expert experience in starting, selling, and funding businesses, as well as writing business plans.   Start with a business plan summary. Make it simple. Don't assume anyone knows anything about your business or industry. Don’t get bogged down trying to describe products or technologies--if the risk exists, just talk about what the technology is used for.  Try to answer the questions in the outline crisply and directly.  In the beginning, there isn't time for long explanations.  People are busy and you want to capture their interest. You can elaborate later. Don’t exaggerate.  Be as factual as possible.  Be prepared to defend any claims you make if possible. Quantify claims whenever possible.  (Don’t say, “w...