What’s Your Offer?! That’s What an Angel Investor Wants to Know
Once in a lifetime opportunities don’t come very often because they are just that, “once in a lifetime.” If you let your chance go, well, you may never have that chance again. Imagine if the Nobel Peace Prize winner, agronomist, Norman Bourlaug, hadn’t have risked everything for his idea, he would not be recognized today as the father of the Green Revolution. At the time, everyone thought he was crazy. Why would he give up a great job at Dupont to go do work and research in rural Mexico? Why would he take the difficult route when Dupont had even offered to duplicate his salary? But, if he had not made that choice , he wouldn’t have implemented processes that produce higher wheat yields at a much lower price. By deciding to go out on his own, he made a difference to the world, but especially to countries like India, Sudan and Pakistan; making food available to many people that would have otherwise died of hunger.
That’s what starting a business is; it’s a chance to be different, stand out and make a difference. So, as a small business or entrepreneur, you’ve taken that risk, but your business is still in its infancy stage. So sustaining it or getting the funds to grow it further, can be a real issue. Now, you have that second “once in a lifetime” chance, the opportunity to put your project in front of angel investors. Have you thought about what you are going to present and how you are going to offer this great opportunity (your business) to him, when you have that chance to meet. The following tips can help you present your fledgling business in the best perspective possible.
A Prepared Investment Pitch
When you have that first meeting with an angel investor, or Venture Investment Giant, you need to be prepared, and organized. You have to sell yourself and your story. An Angel Investor needs to see your enthusiasm and your energy. And they can’t see that in the little time you have prepared your story properly.
Angel investors want to know who you are and why your project is a good opportunity. You don’t want to overwhelm them with too much information, like you would if you presented your full business plan. Instead you want to prepare an investment pitch that offers the information they need quickly.
Make that Connection
You need to know that Angel investors see lots of projects, and they may pass on a great opportunity if they don’t feel confident about the people leading the project. If your pitch is well formulated and successful then you’ve got their attention and you’ll want to be ready for the question and answer session that immediately follows your presentation. Most Angel investors not only feel like they are investing in your plan or idea, but in you as a person to.
So you want to prepare to answer questions such as:
• What is your market?
• What is your competition doing?
• What does the Angel investor get?
• What are the risks?
• What are the rewards?
An Investment Summary
You’ll also want to leave an Executive summary or Investment summary behind. Business Angels want to see your investment capital because they want to know how much of a financial vested interest you have in the company. The investment summary needs to address the benefit the Angel Investor gets from your company. Its your investment pitch condensed into a paragraph or two.
Bottom Line
The biggest obstacle to your success in that first meeting with the angel investor is in making your pitch tell your story, and making it stand out while under pressure. You are on stage, and you need to show self-confidence. Preparing for the meeting and for the Q&A session will help you get ahead of the game.
