TOOOOOOOOOO gooooooooooooooooooood.

It was full of insight.

Thank you soooooo much

And wish you a very great New Year..

Ruth Hedges wrote;

We built the http://www.fundingroadmap.com , where you plan, organize, benchmark, post and pitch in a completely virtual multiple choice business plan and due diligence reporting system platform to improve upon so many of these issues that both sides of the funding process have to deal with. Our process provides a more level playing field for access capital.

Thanks Joseph. Good to know. Of course we wouldn’t be pitching if we didn’t have multiple independent revenue streams to back up our financials and a highly experienced team behind our business model!

I’ve posted here once before. Truth is, I don’t care how cool, nifty, disruptive, earth changing or fantastic your idea is, if you can’t show me a valid and viable revenue model and if YOU can’t prove to me that YOU can execute on that model, you don’t stand a chance with me or the investors for whom I screen opportunities.

Dr. Smith,

Great article. As a writer of business plans that have achieved funding goals, I can’t agree with you enough about knowing and understanding the competition. Over the years, I have done most of the research on a client’s competitors because they “didn’t want to know.” However, once they understand the valuable information that can be gleaned from analyzing the competition, they come on board.

Another significant failure that I have seen with great regularity is lack of good rationale for the financials. Savvy investors know a “snow” job when they see one. Sometimes, one of the most difficult concepts to get through to a client is that honesty and erring on the side of caution are the best policies.

Earl,

I’ve been in the business of pre-screening for Angels and VC’s for the past 33 years and I’ve seen all of this; each and every time I meet an “inventor”. I have one major rule” I don’t take anything forward to the capital formation process unless I believe that the senior people are “bankable”.

Dr. Smith- if you were looking to invest in a startup would you consider a green product company or a technology company? And why?

I thought this was a great read, and shared with many people. Many of whom are “hunting” for angel money and fit the Characteristics! Thanks!