Venture Capital Firms

There is some exciting news about investment in renewal energy , but first an interesting fact. It seems that Elevation Partners, a venture capital firm seem to think that Facebook is worth three times more than last year, a whooping $23 billion dollars, while the ability of the company to make profit is still a question mark although the management says the cash-flow is positive and the revenue of the company is not to be neglected: $800 million.

In a greener environment, we find out that a start-up from San Francisco, which leases rooftop solar arrays to homeowners, SunRun, obtained an equity investment of $55 million dollars. The investment company, which showed this openness to expanding the investment market outside California, is Sequoia Capital and this is the largest investment made in a company of this type. SunRun has a history of getting funding. It previously got $30million dollars from Sequoia Capital and other two venture capital firms. The money seems to be aimed for the expansion of SunRun in three more states altogether with improving software and operational elements.

SunRun isn’t the only one being helped. In addition, this year SunRun’s competitor, Solar City had access to a $60 million financial pool from PG&E Corporation. Apparently, investment firms noticed that the price of solar panel has dropped and they become more affordable hence desired and did not want to miss the opportunity. The possibility that SunRun will become a target for acquisition is not so absurd right now.

It seems environmental friendly industries are gaining popularity. To support this fact, Tesla, the electric car manufacturer has managed a stock market hit so the future might be green after all. There are 287 companies in the VCgate Database that are willing to invest in energy and they are available to you with just one click.

We move from solar panels back to the land of internet and mobile applications. Foursquare the startup that makes mobile app closes a $20 million funding round, which by what Dennis Crowley the CEO said will be used to create the necessary conditions for hiring more people and probably moving to another location.

The Andreessen Horowitz venture fund invested this time in the company although on the first round of funding they refused to do so. That is a sign that Foursquare is going in the right direction. The company has received a $1.4 million funding last year to develop the location based social network, which allows users to go online and post their location. The software has 1.8 million users by now and as some say, it is evolving faster than Twitter at this stage. Foursquare’s plans are to develop independently and expand marketing partnerships with companies like Starbucks and Marc Jacobs although there have been some rumors of acquisition talks with Google and Yahoo.

FourSquare was lucky? No, they just had access to the right investor. You can too. Click here to access the information of 2075 investors who are willing to invest in the same domain.

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If you want to attract funding for your business, then you’ll need a professional business plan.

Click here to learn how to write great business plan!

A business plan is a living, breathing document - just as you and your company are living, breathing entities. Successful businesses evolve. Even if you have found success in your existing product offerings, marketing plans, management team, and business processes, you will always find a way to do better and grow.

Let your business plan evolve right along with you - to demonstrate to lenders and investors, both new and old, that you are and continue to be a solid investment.

Here are the four most common aspects in which you will update your business plan over time.

Integrate business milestones into your Operations Plan as your company achieves them.

Business milestones, known among business development experts as long-term processes, appear in the Operations Plan in the form of charts with supporting prose. They are projections of when your business will introduce new products; achieve certain revenue levels; execute key partnerships; secure key customer contracts; encounter key financial events such as additional funding rounds or IPO; hire new employees; and other events.

As your business grows, you will (hopefully) reach some of these milestones. Add a new layer to your long-term process charts to display historical facts against your past projections. If you are doing even better than projected, lenders and investors will gain additional confidence in your business. Whether or not you are doing as well as projected, adjust the charts and prose in your everyday processes, or short-term processes. Short-term processes are those activities carried out by your management team to target and serve your target market.

Updating your business milestones charts and supporting text demonstrates your ability to or adjust course accordingly.

Revise the Competitive Analysis section of your business plan as the competition evolves.

As competitors emerge or drop away, adjust your competitive analysis accordingly. Such rotation happens more often in emerging markets than in established ones.

Also, if existing competitors change product offerings, marketing strategies, or known short-term processes, integrate your knowledge into the competitive analysis.

Demonstrating your continued vigilance on the competition shows you have the knowledge required to adjust your own short- and long-term processes accordingly.

Add, subtract, and revise bios from the Management Team section as the roster evolves.

Adding bios, especially, shows lenders and investors that you are growing as a company. This is always good news.

Revise bios of existing management team members as they garner professional distinction in the functioning of your business.

Integrate historical financial data with past assumptions in the Financial Plan.

Just as you do in the Operations Plan as your company grows, add an additional, historical layer to the charts in your Financial Plan. Customer penetration rates, price points, margins, employee head counts, and other financial assumptions will become financial record. Adjust all pro forma (projected) financial statements accordingly.

Click here to learn how to write great business plan!

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Who else wants to raise venture capital?

Watch this free presentation to learn the #1 secret to getting millions for your ideas.

There are as many kinds of venture capital firms as there are kinds of business. When pursuing venture capital for a new business, seven key factors determine which venture capital firms are worth contacting.

1. Proximity to Your Business Headquarters

Most venture capital firms only work with businesses whose headquarters are located within 200 miles. This allows for more frequent and easily scheduled meetings, which in turn facilitates a closer partnership as you pursue steady growth and a tidy exit.

2. Similar Sector Preference

VC firms tend to focus on one sector each. This allows them to maintain and build on focused knowledge of all businesses they fund. So if you are a wireless technology company, focus your own fundraising efforts on firms specializing in the wireless technology sector.

3. Similar Stage Preference

VC firms vary in their fundraising stage preferences. Some prefer to invest early, when risk and potential payoff are high. Other VC firms prefer to bridge capitalization gaps just prior to going public. Therefore, focus your efforts on VC firms who prefer to work with whatever stage your company is in.

4. Partners with Experience in Your Sector

VC firms are comprised of individual partners with experience in the sector the VC prefers to fund. For example, a VC firm specializing in the healthcare sector will have healthcare professionals on their team. This allows the firm to make educated decisions on which businesses they fund – and enriches the wealth of knowledge you will have to draw on when that firm helps you grow your business.

5. Portfolio with Similarities to Your Business

VC firms often ask the companies they are currently funding for advice on which other businesses to fund. Therefore when seeking a VC firm for you, take a look at their portfolio. Are they similar enough to yours that they will have the expertise to explain how your business will benefit the VC firm?

6. Deep Assets

You will go through multiple rounds of capital as you move through the stages of fundraising. The first round may last you a year or five years, but chances are you will need more capital later on. Therefore it is wise to pursue VC firms with “deep pockets” so that they can fund you again if they so choose. That way you will not have to seek new VC firms for future capitalization.

7. Personality Fit

As the VC firm funding you will be advising you as you grow your business, you will need to be able to work with them on a personal level. That is one reason why there are so many meetings and “wooing” prior to funding: to make sure your management team and the VC firm can work together.

Finding the first VC firm is the first step… But then you have to “pitch” them and convince them to fund you.

Watch this free presentation to discover the proven “formula” for pitching venture capitalists.

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Watch this free presentation to discover a little-known “short-cut”… that’ll allow you to finish your business plan in 8 hours (or less)!

If you’d prefer to write your business plan from scratch, here are the main steps:

1. State your reason for writing a business plan.

What do you expect to accomplish by writing a business plan, and who are you targeting - lenders, angel investors, venture capitalists?

2. Write a complete outline.

Write down the ten section of your business plan in the order they will appear in the final draft: Executive Summary, Company Analysis, Industry Analysis, Customer Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Marketing Plan, Operations Plan, Management Team, Financial Plan, and Business Plan Appendix. Fill out each section using sub-headers. When necessary, enter sub-headers in the form of a question, to be answered later.

3. Write your business down (for the Company Analysis and Management Team sections).

Describe your product with a deep understanding of your business concept. Ask yourself, who your target market is and what do they need? Then describe the accomplishments and unique qualifications of your management team for delivering that target market need.

4. Conduct a Competitive Analysis.

Who are your competition and what are their strengths and weaknesses? How are your competition similar to you, and how do you differ? What “barriers to entry” will you erect to control your market share - proprietary information, new technology, a management team uniquely qualified to do the job?

5. Identify and evaluate your industry (Industry Analysis).

Find out what industry your business competes in most directly. What are the best practices of that industry for you to build on? If your company competes in multiple industries, research and describe each one.

6. Identify and target your market (Customer Analysis).

Who are your customers? Who needs what your business has to offer? What are the concerns of your customers, and how does your business satisfy them?

7. Create a Marketing Plan.

How will you deliver the news of your product or service to your customers, and how will you deliver your product or service itself, to your customers?

8. Create an Operations Plan.

What are the daily operations (”short-term processes”), and what are future, overall operations (”long-term processes”) to deliver your product to your market?

9. Create a Financial Plan.

Conduct research into the costs of your business operating in your industry. Include market penetration rates, operating margins, and employee head counts. Detail all revenue streams as well. Your pro forma (projected) financial projections will flow from your cost/revenue analyses.

Compile the Business Plan Appendix.

Include any necessary charts, infographics, customer testimonials, and other supplementary research materials.

Write the Executive Summary.

Although the Executive Summary comes last in the creation of a business plan, it appears first. Use clear, concise writing based on the most gripping aspects of the rest of your business plan. The purpose of the Executive Summary is to hook the reader into reading the rest of your plan, be they lenders, angels, or VCs.

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If you’re looking to raise capital, you’ll need a professional business plan. The trouble is, too many entrepreneurs agonize over their business plans for weeks, months – even YEARS.

Click here to finish your business plan today.

Creating a business plan is not just a chore of due diligence to help you to score big money from valuable partners. It is also a golden opportunity for enlightenment. Here are three big reasons why you must develop a business plan – and why it yields benefits greater than just funding.

Business Plan as Feasibility Study

If you have never conducted a formal feasibility study for your business, a business plan serves as one. You will be conducting research into your industry, customers, and competitors. You will discover where the industry in which you operate is large and growing; who your customers are, and what they need; and where your competition is strong and weak.

Looking at these factors while you prepare your business plan will give you invaluable insight as to whether your business is perfect as-is (it’s not), needs work (it does), or needs to be scrapped (it might not.) This saves you time, money, and heartache in the long run.

Business Plan as Financial Outlook

You will also find out, through through researching your business plan, how much capital you will need to raise to make your business viable. This allows you to create sharp, reasoned, realistic financial projections.

Investors need to know your projections are based on realistic assumptions and comprehensive industry research. This forces you to take a good, hard look at your business and plan for the future. Peace of mind begins with measurable data.

Business Plan as Strategy Development Tool

When developing a business plan, not only will you be looking outward to the market at large, you will also be looking inward – at your management team, your operations, and of course your product or service.

You will discover which management holes to fill, and which ones to use as ballast. You will find out how to apply industry best practices to your business, so that you do not waste time “re-inventing the wheel,” as goes the cliché. You will see how to adjust your product or service set to better meet market demands.

Make no mistake. The most important reason for a business plan is to get the cash and expertise of a lender or investor, so that your business can grow successfully and lead towards a profitable exit for you and your investing partners. But the intrinsic benefits of a business plan are just as valuable.

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Still haven’t finished your business plan?

Click here for a “Short-Cut” to finish your business plan faster.

And here are a few concepts to memorize while creating your business plan:

Pens Down, Eyes Open

Before starting writing your business plan, do the research. Find out if there is a market for your product or service. See whether you are capable of filling that market, and that it is realistically profitable. You may discover challenges that will force you to rearrange your idea before spending weeks constructing a business plan.

The Yin and Yang of Profitability

If investors and lenders are to be attracted to your business plan, you must show:

that your competition is large and plentiful, proving you operate in a large and growing industry
that you can outmaneuver that competition by niche marketing and setting up barriers to entry

Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of claiming they have no competition. This may or may not be true in your case, but investors don’t believe in one-business industries. Healthy competition is evidence that your industry is growing, which allows your business to grow within the industry.

The paradox is that you must show you can overtake said competition somehow. You can do this by proving a) you have identified and can master a niche market within that industry, and b) you have created barriers to entry (e.g., proprietary technology, exclusive information, a unique management team, etc.) This shows that your company is the only one equipped to fill the market need.

The Four Pillars of Logic in a Business Plan

A business plan is essentially a logical argument for why and how a business will succeed. The logic is as follows:

1. Opportunity: There is an unmet market need.
2. Resources: Your business has the resources to fill that need.
3. Methods: Explain how your resources will be used to fill the need.
4. Results: Show how you and your investors will profit from the way your business uses its strengths to fill an unmet market need.

Financial Assumptions: Spell It Out, From Seed to Exit

The imagination of the investor is where fundraising efforts go to die. Do not let them imagine. Show your figures. Explain revenue and cost projections, from the start of your business all the way through the liquidity events that will benefit the investors. Use industry research and case studies to support your pro forma (projected) financial assumptions.

Just Say No to Format Creativity

As sure as there is grammar in an English sentence, every business plan has a standard format. That format, in this exact order, is: Executive Summary, Company Analysis, Industry Analysis, Customer Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Marketing Plan, Operations Plan, Management Team, Financial Plan, and Appendix. Yes, you can be creative in the content of your business, and the ways in which you go about marketing and running operations. Creativity is what allows entrepreneurs to win. But the format of the business plan must be absolutely adhered to.

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If you want to raise capital, you’re going to need a professional business plan.

Click here to learn how to finish your business plan faster.

Here are three guiding stars to keep an eye on when writing a winning business plan.

1. Write Plainly.

This does not mean write in a boring fashion. To write plainly is to let the facts speak for themselves. A business plan is a logical argument that demonstrates a) there is a market need in a large and growing industry, b) your company has the resources to fill that need, c) your company has the methods of using those resources to fill the need, and d) that those methods will lead to long-term profitability.

Use simple sentences and a universal vocabulary. If you absolutely need to use industry jargon, explain each new term as you bring it up in the business plan. As lenders and investors are always short on time, your business plan must be as concise as possible, without sacrificing any of the compelling facts, figures, and explanations that will show your business to be profitable.

Avoid errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar. You may want to pull out a copy of “The Elements of Style” by Strunk and White and brush up on your plain writing skills. Also, get help from friends, family, associates, mentors, and writing experts to revise the final draft.

2. Clearly Explain the Value of Your Intellectual Property without Divulging Proprietary Secrets

You will need to make a strong argument about why your unique methods and operations strategies will work to grow the business successfully. However, you do not need to give away secrets. As your business plan will be circulated among many parties, you will need to ride the fine line between value-clarity and self-protection.

Here is how to ride that fine line. Rather than spell out exactly how your technology, proprietary secrets, or other “ace up your sleeve” works, show investors examples by which similar methods have worked for you in the past. Alternatively, you may reference research showing how similar companies in your industry have found success using similar, but not the same, methods.

Say everything you need to get the point across, but no more. Protect yourself. In subsequent meetings with investors, you can begin to open up more and more as the relationship develops.

3. Get Inside The Mind of the Investor

As stated earlier, a business plan is a logical argument for profitability. It flows from point to point, propelling the reader forward to the next logical step. It keeps investors hooked every step of the way.

Just don’t keep investors in the dark. Suspense is not a worthwhile plot device in a business plan. Your facts and figures must be clearly reasoned and based in hard research. An investor will be looking to make sure your pro forma (projected) financial figures are realistic. They will want to see clearly where liquidity events may occur, such as revenues, a buyout, or IPO.

The key is to demonstrate that you have found an unfilled market need, and that you shall fill it with the proper funding and guidance from investors.

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Tired of agonizing over your business plan? Sick of staring at a blank screen?

Watch this free presentation to discover how to finish your business plan in 8 hours (or less)!

Before creating a solid business plan, prepare. You will need to assess your skills, hire help where necessary, acquire a template to work with, have trusted volunteers edit your plan, and set a timetable for completion.

Determine Which Aspects of the Business Plan to Delegate

Every business plan requires research, marketing strategy, financial planning, concise writing, and even more concise revision. If you are not confident in any of these skill sets, hire help. If your start-up cannot afford this, get a loan. The alternatives are a business plan that does not sell your business to investors, or even no business plan at all. So honestly assess your skills and get help where there are gaps.

Work with a Business Plan Template

A business plan template is a document that allows you to fill in all of your research, data, and writing in a proven format. It includes all sections of a business plan: Executive Summary, Company Analysis, Industry Analysis, Customer Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Marketing Plan, Operations Plan, Management team, Financial Plan, and Appendix. A professionally developed template is a minimal investment that can yield a big payoff. The template available at Growthink.com, a business consulting firm that has helped entrepreneurs raise $1 trillion in capital, is one such tool.

Let Others Read Your Business Plan and Offer Edits

There is minimal chance that someone will steal your idea. Share your business plan with friends and family, associates and mentors. Ask them to give you honest feedback. It helps to use the Track Changes feature in a word processor document and hand the same, evolving document over to multiple helpers for edits. Then you can accept or reject changes a la carte. If you do not share your plan with others, you will be creating your business plan in a vacuum. Get help even if you know what you are doing; business plan burnout can make experienced entrepreneurs miss even the most glaring of errors.

Create a Schedule of Milestones Towards Completion

Set goals. Break the business plan preparation process into manageable chunks. You can complete a business plan within 40 hours if you stay on-task. Schedule a brainstorming session with your management team, and use it to fill out the outline of your business plan. Then schedule four-hour blocks in which to finish writing the sections of your business plan. Each section can be completed in four hours. Tip: the Industry Analysis and Customer Analysis sections can be completed in one four-hour block.

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If you’re looking to raise capital, you need a professional business plan. The only problem is, it takes most entrepreneurs 100+ hours to write a business plan from scratch.

Want a short-cut?

Watch this free presentation to discover how you can finish your business plan in 8 hours (or less)!

Writing a business plan can be split into four overlapping phases.

1. Write the business plan outline and build it out.

Open a fresh document and enter headers for the ten sections of a business plan. First describe your product and management team for the Company Analysis and Management Team sections. Then fill out the Competitive Analysis, Industry Analysis, Customer Analysis, Marketing Plan, Operations Plan, and Financial Plan to the best of your ability. Also draft an initial Executive Summary, with an eye to hooking the reader into reading the whole business plan.

You will rearrange this outline when you go to convert the outline to an actual business plan in Step 3. But do write the outline in this order, as the sections build upon one another in sequence as you assemble your ideas with hard research.

2. Do the research and build out the outline some more.

Research the competition’s strengths and weaknesses, the best practices of the industry in which you operate, and the customers you will target. Purchase hard research into the marketing and operations costs of businesses similar to yours, their revenue streams, and best practices.

Use this research to build out the corresponding sections in the business plan outline. All of your financial research and reality-based projections will also occur in the Financial Plan, a section that many prospective lenders and investors read first.

3. Tuck it in and pass it around.

Rearrange the sections of the outline into the sequence in which the reader will encounter them: Executive Summary, Company Analysis, Industry Analysis, Customer Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Marketing Plan, Operations Plan, and Financial Plan. Add the Business Plan Appendix at the end, which contains any and all supplementary/supporting research reports.

Convert the outline to prose. Your writing must be clear and concise. The business plan must be based in hard research for all sections, with two exceptions. The Marketing Plan and Operations Plan sections can describe more creative methodologies, as creativity is the hallmark of profitable innovation in these areas.

Complete the draft and submit it to friends, family, associates, and mentors who will give constructive edits and criticism.

4. Write the final draft.

Using the edits and criticism you acquired in Step 3 - as well as any new thoughts, research, or changes you might have inherited in the process - edit your business plan for logical flow.

Finally, check grammar, spelling, punctuation, and formatting. Make the business plan objectively flawless in these areas.

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If you’re starting a new business, you’ll need a business plan.

Watch this free presentation to discover how to finish your business plan in 8 hours (or less)!

And here are the 4 steps to entrepreneurship…

An entrepreneur is a jack of all trades. You must be creative, to be able to spot opportunities; analytical, to assess which opportunities are worth pursuing; focused, to select and commit to a plan; and driven, to see the plan through to long-term profitability.

1. Creatively spot opportunities.

The entrepreneur sees opportunities everywhere. These types of observations often arise from a dissatisfaction in the entrepreneur’s own life as a consumer of products and services.

Do you see consumer or business market needs in which you think you could perform better, faster, or more economically than the existing companies do? If so, then you can spot opportunities. Keep a log of all the opportunities you see. You will repeatedly refer to them later.

2. Analytically evaluate opportunities.

While spotting opportunities is a creative act, assessing opportunities is an analytical skill. Do you think you have the technology, proprietary information, and other necessary resources to fill the market needs you spotted? If not, do you have the ability to acquire those resources?

Also, will the venture be profitable? Remember, your business plan must show that there is a large and growing market for your product or service, and that you can deliver on it economically. Conduct or purchase in-depth market and industry research reports pertaining to the arena in which your business will operate.

3. Commit to a single opportunity.

Among the opportunities you have spotted and analyzed, which ones are the best? You must select a single opportunity. It must be feasible and profitable. The growth opportunity must be present, both for your own sake and for those of investors, who are in the investment game to win it.

Remember, however, that you must choose an opportunity you will enjoy pursuing. Take an hones look at yourself. Do you really want to do this? If so, commit to it and do not be sidetracked by other paths.

4. Execute long-term.

The first assurance for executing long-term is writing a professional business plan. You can write a business plan from scratch using a template, or you can hire a reputable firm to work with you in creating one. This will establish your short-term and long-term goals. The safe driving maxim “Aim high in steering” applies here. Keep your eye on the horizon and stay the course by using a business plan.

You must also exercise the mental stamina, intellectual agility, mission focus, and management ability to be the main driver in achieve long-term success.

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You know that the key way to get the funding you need for your company is to meet the right investor. Now, you are probably asking the question, which investor is the right investor? The investor that gives the funding is the right investor, right? Well, that’s right in a way, but that’s not exactly the way the cooky crumbles.

Click here to meet the right investor!

Finding the right investor can take some work and it all depends on several factors. The first factor is what industry you are in. The right investor should be an investor who invests in your industry. He should be knowledgeable in the industry that you invest in. Investors usually have industry preferences and these preferences are usually based on the experience and expertise the investor has in that particular industry. He should know what the markets are for that particular industry and possible worked in that industry as either an entrepreneur himself or held a key management position in that particular industry. In the case of a venture capitalist or other formal investor, he also has connections with other experts in the industry who can give you inside resources that can help your company turn a profit. This is very important because you may find things out that can benefit your company in the long run.

Stage is another important thing that investors look at before they invest in a particular company. For this reason, the right investor for you should have the stage preference for the stage that your company is in. For example, startup companies yield very high risks, but the ROI they can yield can also be very high, therefore some investors will have a stage preference for startup, series A and B with the expectation that their ROI can outweigh the risks of the investments they place in these companies. On the other hand, other investors prefer to invest in companies who are in their later stages. For example, in a later stage company that is seeking investments for growth or expansion or mezzanine funding to prepare for an IPO, they will need investors who have a later stage preference. With later stage companies, the risks of the investments are rather low and ROI can vary from company to company. For example, a company has successfully completed their series A and B funding rounds and has noticed that its product is in high demand and wants to expand, that company will want to find an investor who can invest in growth or expansion stage. When a company is ready for an IPO, that means that it is preparing to be publicly traded on the stock exchange. These companies seek mezzanine funding to bridge funding gaps in preparing their IPO. There are investors who invest in mezzanine stage and can also provide those entrepreneurs with expertise related to going public.

Some investors expect to have an MBO or LBO when they exit from the investment. This means that eventually, you will have to sell your company to the investor or to a company that the investor has dealings with. An MBO is a management buyout and investors who require an MBO usually work together with the management of the company and eventually buy the company from the entrepreneur. An LBO is a leveraged buyout and this usually happens if a company has some financial difficulties and the investor could leverage a buyout of the company.

Geography can also play a role whether your prospective investor will decide to invest in your company or not. That’s right, all investors have their geographic preferences and will only invest in a specific location, country, region of countries or internationally. Many international investors have their expertise of different countries and how their markets work there. International investors will also take into account how governments function in those given countries, relationships with business entities, etc. Smaller investors tend to invest closer to home. This means that they will usually invest only within the local area that is within a 60 to 100 mile radius from their home or office. Other medium sized investors will invest nationwide.

You can meet the right investor when you visit VCgate.com and buy our complete Venture Capital, Angel Investors, and Private Investors Database. With this database, you will be able to take advantage of our easy-to-use interface that allows you to select investors by stage, industry, and geographic preference and you are also email many of them at once with the single click of your mouse.

Click here to meet the right investor!

You can meet the right investor and get the capital you need for your company by taking advantage of the resources VCgate has to offer, so won’t you take the plunge?

All the best and good luck!

Amir

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A business plan proves to investors that you know your customers, competitors, and your own management team (as well as the management vacancies you may need to fill.)

Most entrepreneurs spends weeks and months on their business plans. However, with the right approach you can finish your plan MUCH faster.

Click here to finish your business plan in 1 day.

Here are three of the most important core questions to answer in your business plan.

1. Do you know your customers?

Do you know your target market both generally and specifically? In one or two sentences of the Customer analysis, describe your target market in general terms. Sketch a picture of the average customer, e.g., “soccer moms and dads with a combined annual income of $110,000 and three cars.”

Then use demographics and psychographics to break down that average customer into “segments”. A segment of your target market is a smaller, narrower portion that will require different types of marketing to reach. In the foregoing example, there can be a California segment, an urban segment, a Latino segment, and so on along narrower and narrower channels.

Demonstrating an intimate knowledge of your customers, what they need, and how you will deliver your product to them will help you get funding from lenders and investors.

2. Do you know your competitors?

Describe your competitors from the general to the specific. Include full reports on your top competitors. Include their market penetration, operating margins, and head counts. Show where they are weak and strong. Be realistic, and use hard research in the areas of financial data, as well as competitors’ marketing strategies.

Note: A competitor is any entity that could cut into your profits. A competitor need not be a business. If your company manufactures tanning beds, then one of your competitors is the sun.

Understanding your competitors means you can learn from their strengths and exploit their blind spots. It proves to lenders and investors that you understand your place in the higher order of your industry.

3. Do you know your management team?

Who will be the driving force behind the operation of your business in both the short- and long-term? What are their past accomplishments and qualifications as they pertain to your business? Just because a leader has experience, that does not necessarily make him a good candidate to run your company. Explain how exactly your management team is the one to carry out your objectives.

If you need to fill management holes, explain what qualifications you are looking for, and how you will acquire and keep them as human resources.

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Meeting the right investor for your business is as hard as finding the right love partner only it costs a lot more. Time is the most expensive asset you have and you surely don’t want to waste it so click here to meet the right investor for your business.

The relationship between you and your investor will be a long-term one so you do want to get it right from the beginning to save time, legwork and money for everyone. These are some key points you should take into consideration when searching for an investor:

All the best,

Amir

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If you want to raise capital, you need a business plan.

Click here for a free presentation that shows you how to finish your business plan in 8 hours or less.

The first thing to do is set the pen down and look around. That is a maxim all writers worth their salt must follow, and someone writing a business plan is wise to observe it as well. It all begins with research. Is there a market for your product or service? What is the competition? After research comes developing a strategy, calculating costs and revenues, drafting a plan, and finalizing a finished copy.

1. Do the Research

Use databases, articles, and direct interviews with entrepreneurs and potential customers to do research on the industry as a whole, your niche market, your competitors, and operational costs. Keep detailed, organized, careful notes. Be very careful about citing sources, as you will be referencing them throughout the business plan.

2. Develop a Strategy

Use industry standard best practices as a jumping-off point. This ensures your strategy is solid, as it is has tested in the field by others. But then you must develop further strategies that differ from the rest of the industry. This will set your company apart from the competition and create “barriers to entry” to help your business succeed. This will inform all sections of your business plan.

3. Do the Calculations

Add up all the costs of every activity your business will engage in. Include operational costs for the first year, five-year, and long-term projections. Then create revenue projections for the same time periods. Base your projections on the research you did, in light of the strategy you developed. Your projections must absolutely be realistic from square one, or the scent of naivete will make its way to investors, who will promptly drop your business plan into the wastepaper basket.

4. Write a Draft

If you have done the previous parts of the business plan process thoroughly, writing a draft will flow naturally from your existing data. The idea is to turn it all into prose, organized into the ten standard sections of a business plan: Executive Summary, Company Analysis, Industry Analysis, Customer Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Marketing Plan, Operations Plan, Management Team, Financial Plan, and Appendix.

5. Revise and Hone as a Final Draft

First revise for logic and completeness. Remove any redundancies, as the business plan must be as brief as possible without sacrificing the whole picture. Then revise for grammar, punctuation, and finally formatting. If you need to hire a new pair of eyes to look over your business plan, do it. Business planning burnout can make you miss glaring flaws.

Want more business plan tips? CLICK HERE

All the best,

Amir

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So how do you write a business plan in four simple steps?

Keep it simple. There are many small steps to creating a business plan, but really there are four main steps. They are the same ones all writers use to produce any essay, report, book, movie script, or mathematical treatise. You write an outline, fill out the main areas, fill out the subordinate areas, and take that rough draft to the final draft stage. This simple way of looking at writing a business plan – in 4 steps – takes the pressure off, so you can perform well and get the funding you need.

1. Write the Business Plan Outline

The ten sections – or headings – of a business plan are the Executive Summary, Company Analysis, Industry Analysis, Customer Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Marketing Plan, Operations Plan, Management Team, Financial Plan, and Appendix.

Open a fresh document on your computer and write the headings in a column. Write subheadings for each. The subheadings are the main points or questions to be covered or answered in each heading.

2. Start the Draft by Filling Out the Core Sections of the Business Plan

The core sections of the business plan are the Competitive Analysis, Industry Analysis, Customer (or “Market”) Analysis, and Company Overview. Write them in that order, as the Competitive Analysis is the bedrock of the other three core sections.

3. Complete the Draft by Filling Out the Subordinate Sections of the Business Plan

The sections of the business plan that are subordinate to the core sections are the Marketing Plan, Operations Plan, Financial Plan, and Executive Summary. Write them in that order. Save the Executive Summary for last, because it presents the most gripping points from the whole business plan.

4. Convert the Draft to a Final Draft

Send the completed rough draft to a friend, family member, or associate that will be able to give you an honest, thorough, educated edit. Use the “Track Changes” function in the document to log the changes. Now, pass that same edited document on to another qualified friend, family member, or associate for a second edit. Although it may seem inefficient, the effect is the exact opposite. It avoids doubling up on suggestions, tracking changes one at a time so you can accept or decline them when you finally get it back. (Send the draft to a minimum of three people for edits.)

Format the final draft such that each new section begins on a new page. Include a cover sheet, a table of contents, and an Appendix containing all supporting materials. Use page borders, page footers with page numbers, and page headers with your company name and logo. Consider using pertinent pictures, infographics, and call-out boxes to round out the business plan.

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Want to get funded? Watch this free presentation to learn how to convince investors to fund your business.

This article explains how to identify the right venture capital firms for your business. There are two halves to the process. The first half is considering the seven key factors that determine your fit with a subset of all venture capital firms. The second half is developing your list of firms to contact.

1st Half: Identifying The Seven Key Factors of Finding the Right Venture Capital Firm

Consider the following factors before seeking a venture capital firm:

• Location. Most venture capital firms prefer to work with companies operating within 100 miles of the firm, as this allows them to become more involved with your company and add value.
• Sector Preference. Most venture capital firms specialize in one sector, e.g., technology or healthcare. Aim for venture capital firms that match your sector.
• Stage Preference. Most venture capital firms focus on companies at a specific stage of capitalization, i.e., Pre-Seed Funding, Seed Funding, Early Stage Investment, Later Stage Investment, or Mezzanine Financing.
• Partners. Venture capital firms who employ partners that have worked in your line of business are ideal, as they will end up on your board of directors should the firm choose to fund your business.
• Portfolio. Seek venture capital firms whose portfolios include companies in your field. The stronger the synergies with the other companies in a venture capital firm’s portfolio, the better your chances of getting funding.
• Assets. Look for venture capital firms with deep pockets. This might seem obvious, but it is useful to note that the deeper the pockets, the more likely the firm will fund future rounds of raising equity. This saves you time looking for another VC firm.
• Fit. This is a euphemism for personal/professional chemistry. You have to be able to work with the partners of the VC firm and vice-versa, as they will sit on your board of directors.

2nd Half: Developing Your Master List of Venture Capital Firms

There are three steps to creating a list of venture capital firms to contact.

1. Generate a list of venture capital funds. You can generate a list on this website.
2. Narrow the list of funds. The main factors when narrowing the list are location, stage of development, and market sector preference.
3. Verify that each venture capital firm is active. If a venture capital firm has not made an investment within the last year, it is dormant and will probably not take on any new ventures.

Once you have your list of venture capital firms that would make for a great partner for your business, you can begin identifying and contacting the appropriate partners at the firms on your list.

OK, now that you have your list, the next step is your VC pitch.

Click here for a free presentation that reveals the #1 secret to pitching investors, so you get the funding you need.

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Do you want your business plan to get noticed by investors?

If so, you’re in luck…

Click here for a free presentation & download a proven business plan template

There are a few “don’t’s” and a few “do’s” to creating a business plan that gets noticed. The dont’s will get your business plan noticed – and tossed out. The do’s will keep you in the game all the way through to the end of the business plan and beyond.

Avoid Automatic Disqualifiers

Investors read for mistakes. The moment they see one, they lose interest. And here are those mistakes in plain English:

• Overestimating market sizes. For example, if your business operates in the $1 trillion health care industry, you cannot state that your market is $1 trillion. You must narrow down a niche.
• Underestimating competition. A business plan that claims no competition undermines the credibility of the management team. It screams naiveté.
• Projecting results over-aggressively. A business plan that claim market penetration, operating margin and revenues per employee that are weakly reasoned, internally inconsistent or just unrealistic undermine the credibility of the business plan as a whole.

Avoid those mistakes, and you will avoid creating a business plan that “gets noticed in a bad way.” So much for the “don’t’s”. The following are the “do’s”.

Identify a Large and Growing Market with an Unmet Need

You absolutely must show investors that your company operates in a large and growing market and that there is a “clear and compelling need for the product or service,” according to a business plan guide by Growthink, a leading business consultancy. It is therefore important to narrow the market by referencing reliable sources regarding its size and projected growth.

The dilemma is that a large market will undoubtedly have many competitors. Therefore you must also prove “barriers to entry”.

Prove Barriers to Entry

A barrier to entry is an aspect of your business that locks out the competition. Barriers to entry include proprietary technology, exclusive information that no other company has, and a management team with experience that no one else has. The “barrier to entry” aspect of your business plan sets your company apart in a stark way. You are showing here that your company is the only one that can fill the market need identified in your business plan.

Show Examples Cases

A tried-and-true method of operating is one compelling way to increase faith in your business plan. If something has been done before successfully by other companies that are similar to yours, tell their stories. The trick here is to show that your company can command a different large and growing market and holds barriers to entry.

Need to finish your business plan fast?

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Want to finish your business plan faster?

Watch this free presentation to see how you can finish your plan in 8 hours or less.
When working on your business plan, it is wise to step back periodically and take a mental snapshot of your progress. Once you have completed a draft of your business plan, ask yourself whether

1. your Executive Summary is a one-punch knockout;
2. your company fits the management team like a glove;
3. and your business plan would satisfy the appetite of your standard seasoned investor.

1. Have Them at Hello

You get one minute to make your case in writing. That is the amount of time that investors will spend reading the first page of your business plan. After that, they will either read on - or let it go forever.

The first page of your Executive Summary represents that first minute. Although it is the last thing you will write in your business plan, the Executive Summary is the one chance you get to hook readers into swallowing the whole plan. It must contain the most gripping, most compelling aspects of your plan.

Every good Executive Summary covers the product or service of your company, who exactly the market is, and the relevant background of the management team.

To score a knockout blow in the Executive Summary, you will have to simplify some of the arguments you make in the rest of your business plan, but that’s okay. As long as it hooks an investor, it’s a good executive Summary. Readers can get the details later in the plan.

2. Vividly Illustrate That Your Management Team is Perfect for the Job

Years of experience count, but not as much as relevant experience. Your management team must be uniquely qualified to carry out the daily and long-term operations of your company. This will come out in the Company Analysis, Operations Plan, and Management Team sections of the business plan.

For example, your management team will be considered more qualified if the members have experience starting and successfully running young companies. Each member of the team must have experience in the job he or she is designated to do within the company. It helps if your management team has worked with recognizable brands. If you do not have the full management team to round out your needs, show how and when you will hire the right people.

3. Get Inside the Mind of the Investor

Worthy investors have a knack for quickly evaluating a venture based on a mental checklist that has become second nature to them over the years. Investors need to be able to

• quickly understand your company’s product or service;
• see that there is a large and growing need for your company’s offering;
• understand how your company builds “barriers to entry” the set your company apart;
• be satisfied that your management team is fit for the job;
• verify that you are realistic in your financial projections;
• and offer an exit strategy or multiple exit strategies for investors.

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If you’re looking to raise capital for your business, you need a great business plan.

And if you still haven’t finished your business plan…
Click Here for a “short-cut” to finish your business plan faster.

And here are some important mistakes to avoid…

When investors read business plans, they are looking for reasons to love the business, but they are also looking for reasons to unceremoniously discard it. As soon as they run across one of the following three red flags, it doesn’t matter how good the rest of your plan is. You’re dead in the water.

Don’t do the following.

Claim a lack of competition.

Some entrepreneurs get carried away in their zeal to demonstrate barriers to entry that set their company apart from others. A “barrier to entry” is proprietary information or knowledge, or a set management team experience no one else can claim. Factors that make your company stand out are attractive, but the reality is that no business has no competition.

The Industry Analysis section of your business plan must show the size of the industry in which you compete. The Market Analysis will show the sub-set of that industry on which you will focus. The Competitive Analysis must show your competitors’ strengths - and how you will overcome them.

You can have your cake and eat it too, in other words. You must show there is enough competition to convince investors that the market is large enough to cash in big-time, but that your strategy is focused and unique enough to navigate an exclusive path through the waters of that competition.

Use first-mover advantage as your chief exit strategy.

Companies whose sole exit strategy, or investor payout point, is to flood the market with a new product or service, and then sell the company in a year, will not find worthy investors. Things move too quickly in the information age. Investors want a company that can grow quickly but steadily in phases. They look for business plans that show a sober, realistic financial lookout, and fiscally responsible exit strategies.

Target just one large company to eventually buy your smaller company.

For example, if your company is developing a new software, do not place all your eggs in the Google or Microsoft basket. If the exit strategy of your business plan depends on a larger company buying yours, provide parallel case studies. Show sufficient evidence that the conditions are the same for your company as they were for the successful sale of the case study companies.

Furthermore, show why a larger company would not want or be able to develop the same product in-house.

Let us be absolutely clear:

Don’t claim a lack of competition.
Don’t use first-mover advantage as your chief exit strategy.
Don’t target just one large company to eventually buy your smaller company.

Avoid those business plan mistakes and your path to funding will be far clearer.

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As a new entrepreneur, you are probably very enthusiastic in your venture and you may be over optimistic on the profits or the success of your venture. This can cause you as it causes many new entrepreneurs to make three deadly mistakes that can kill their business plan. To avoid this trap, you should read carefully what I am telling you, because it can determine whether you get funding or not.

Click here to learn how to avoid the three deadly errors in writing your business plan

The first thing you need to know is that investors are risk takers. The other thing you need to know is that investors do not take any kind of risks. They take calculated risks. What they do is they look at a business plan and they assess the potential risk and the potential ROI, or return on their investment. This is key. Once you understand this, you can act accordingly. Furthermore, investors usually were either entrepreneurs or CEOs of big companies at one time or another, therefore they tend to invest only in the industries they know best. For this reason how you present yourself and your knowledge of the industry is crucial to winning that funding. The three deadly errors to be avoided are listed below:

1. Business plan or executive summary does not get the investors attention is the primary reason why you will never get a response when you submit your executive summary. Your executive summary is the key part of your business plan that can make or break your business plan. The executive summary is the face of your business plan and is the first part of the plan the investor sees. What he sees in the executive summary will determine whether he will be interested or not. So, how can you get the investor to show interest in your business plan and executive summary? Basically, marketing skills can play a good role here. Think of selling your venture to the investor, which is what you are actually doing. When you are seeking investments, you are selling a part of your company’s equity. Your investors will have some control of your company when they invest, because they control a fraction of your equity. Like marketing a product, you need to make your venture sound interesting. Write your executive summary in a way that it will show the key highlights of your business plan. Things that your investor would be interested in. Think about what investors would be interested in. Money and numbers. That is the most important thing to show, but you need to be careful not to hype it up. Be truthful and showcase projected profits and possible risks. If you have a product that can fulfill a need in your industry, showcase that. Use language that is specifically designed to catch the investor’s attention, and that should even start in the teaser email.

2. Business plan and executive summaries that are over optimistic will turn off investors. Furthermore, you will appear either green or naive. You want to make sure that all your financial data is true and more realistic. This might require spending some money. When writing your business plan, it would not hurt to spend a few thousand dollars to hire a CPA, market analyst, and legal counsel to do all the math for you. You might also want to hire a good bookkeeper to accurately divide up how the funding will be spent and what amount of money goes to product development, manufacturing, executive salaries, employee salaries, and other business operations. Investors want to see numbers and they want to see numbers that add up. You can bet money that investors will have their market analysts who will look at your industry and they will tear your business plan apart, so you need to have your data backed up by sound market research and the best thing is to have it done by experts who can see eye-to-eye with the research of other investors. Legal counsel should also be hired, because a good businessman should have a competent attorney who knows business law. Furthermore, your legal counsel will also know how to best register your company. Investors look at this too. Most importantly, your legal counsel also knows how to draft nondisclosure agreements you will want for your investor to sign to avoid your intellectual property and trade secrets being revealed to your competitors.

3. Being a do-it-yourselfer may be great for home improvement or doing your landscaping, but when doing your business plan, it might not necessarily be that good idea. As mentioned in the above paragraph, you should seriously consider hiring a CPA, bookkeeper, market analyst, and legal counsel to help with having good market research and data. These people are professionals and know all the ins and outs of how a business plan should look like and most importantly, they know the math and what the investor is looking for. Furthermore, if you are not the type who is very articulate in selling your business, hire someone to write your executive summary in such a way that can articulate to the investor your venture that will catch his interest. Work together with the specialists you hire to study your industry. Investors want to invest in a company that has a competent executive team and who knows what they are doing.

Don’t worry. You still need to do your own research and you still need to hire your own industry experts, but you have friends at VCgate. We can give you every thing you need from our Venture Capital, Angel Investors, and Private Investors Database; which can give you instant access to over 4300 funding sources worldwide and you also have access to other resources that can help you to get some of the funding from these funding sources.

Click here to see what VCgate has to offer!

The combination of the database and all the other resources we have available to you at VCgate can help you avoid these three deadly errors when you are writing your business plan.

All the best, and good luck!

Amir

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Writing a business plan takes tens of HOURS of planning, research, strategizing, calculation, and of course writing. (You can finish it much faster if you
use this “short-cut” )

Here are 5 steps to create a professional business plan.

1. Write an Outline

Use a standard business plan template. The ten sections of a business plan are, in this order: Executive Summary, Company Analysis, Industry Analysis, Customer Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Marketing Plan, Operations Plan, Management Team, Financial Plan, and Appendix. Fill in what you already know about each section. Do not deviate from the standard business plan model. Investors need to be able to know where to look for the information they seek.

2. Do the Research

The preponderance of research you will do will be for the Industry Analysis, Customer Analysis, and Competitive Analysis sections. Use reliable, industry-trusted sources to discover market facts, stats, and trends. For the Marketing Plan, Operations Plan, and Financial Plan sections, research start-up and operating costs, potential locations if relevant, and available labor pool in your niche. Research your own company as well, including existing and required labor, for the Company Analysis.

3. Develop a Strategy

Based on your research, decide whether to continue with your business plan. You may discover that there is no market for your business and discard it. If there is a market, use your research to identify and map all revenue streams from target market to company coffers. That information will appear in your Marketing Plan. Also detail how the company will be operated, to be reflected in the Operations Plan.

4. Calculate All Financials

This informs your Financial Plan. Activities, costs, and revenues should be stated in accounting terms to create the all-important pro forma (projected) financial statements for the company. Use a financial template in a spreadsheet program to fill out a rock-solid financial plan. Otherwise you may need to consult an outside accountant (unless you are an accountant yourself.) Investors scrutinize this section the hardest of all the sections of a business plan.

5. Write the Narrative

Write the business plan in this order: Industry Analysis, Customer Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Marketing Plan, Operations Plan, Company Analysis, Management Team, Financial Plan, and finally the Executive Summary, which encapsulates the essence of the entire business and hooks investors into reading the whole plan. Scoot the Executive Summary to the front of the business plan, then tack on the Appendix: the place where all your supporting materials (expanded analyses, infographics, etc.) are placed.

A common mistake most new business plan writers make is to focus too narcissistically on their own business, at the expense of thoroughly understanding the market and industry in which their businesses operate. Be mindful of this, and you will write a business plan that makes investors pay attention.

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I’m sure that you are one of many frustrated entrepreneurs who has spent lots of time and money in drafting a business plan yet you never hear back from the investors whom you sent your business plan to. Chances are that your business plan was never even read by those investors, instead it was thrown away. This actually happens quite frequently when investors receive business plans.

Click here to see how you can access the resources to get your business plan read and taken seriously!

To help you get your business plan read by investors and get your investors interested, we have developed seven key points for you to follow to keep your business plan from being trashed.

1. Never present your business plan first to the investor. If the business plan is the first thing you present the investor, it is already going to be doomed to the garbage. This is a lot of information and most investors are very busy people and do not like to be overwhelmed with an entire business plan right away. Instead, you should start by building rapport with the investor or if you contact him cold, write a good teaser email to get him interested. Remember, your teaser email should be brief.

2. Have an executive summary together with your business plan. Your executive summary should be brief and it should reveal more about your venture than the initial teaser email. In fact, the executive summary should be part of your business plan but as a stand-alone document that summarizes your business plan and points out the highlights of your business plan. Typically, your executive summary should be one to three pages long and should contain more of the information that the investor would like to see.

3. Do your homework before submitting your final business plan. Remember, investors expect that you are an expert of your industry and so you need to play the part if you want to receive funding. You should research your industry well and you need to present yourself that you are very knowledgeable in your field. Investors have their experts too and this can be very testing to your expertise. If your business plan shows that you do not know what you’re doing, it will be trashed.

4. Know your competition and how you stand against them. Research your competition intensely. What are your competitors strengths and weaknesses. Are you capable to take advantage of your competitors weaknesses and can you overcome your competitor’s strong points? If investors see that you do not have a chance against the competition, you will not be funded and your business plan ends up, well, you know where.

5. Be certain your numbers are realistic. This is very important. Investors like numbers, but they like numbers that are realistic, not too low or too high. You may want to hire a CPA and a good bookkeeper to make sure that your numbers are right. Investors are very good at assessing the risks and the potential profits. The higher the risk and the lower the profit will cause your business plan to end up in the trash.

6. Do not look naive before the investors. Be sure that all your information is backed up with serious research and that your numbers are accurate. Though it is hard to predict the future, that’s what investors do in a way. They take calculated risks and they want to see a good ROI or return on their investment. Investors will have their CPAs and market analysts to do their research as they do the due diligence phase. This can make or break your business plan.

7. Never use phrases that are too good to be true, such as this is a guaranteed success or your investment in this venture is pure profit. Phrases of this nature should be avoided at all costs. When an investor sees or hears phrases like this, he’ll think that you are either dreaming or you want to take him to the cleaners. In general, overhyping your venture will not put you in a good light with the investor. Tell the truth. Be sincere and show that you believe in your venture and that you are convinced that your venture would be a good opportunity for the prospective investor and back it with hard core evidence proven by research.

Remember, these seven key points are what make a winning business plan that will not end up in the garbage.

Click here to finish your business plan in 8 hours or less!

At VCgate you can get the resources you need to get your business plan to be seen by an investor and not end up in the trash.

Click here to access 4300+ Venture Capital and Angel investors immediately!

You will be successful if you put your own efforts in seeking capital for your company, and your friends here at VCgate are here to help you have the resources and the contact information to access the funding sources you need to start your company.

All the best and good luck!

Amir

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I’m giving you another chance to accept this incredible offer! VCgate truly is the gateway to the funding sources that the big boys use when they need funding for their companies. Furthermore, the easy to use interface makes searching for your investors a breeze!

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All the best and good luck!

Amir

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If your company is in the cardiovascular medicine industry, you may have an easy time looking for funding sources, since the need for treatments for cardiovascular health issues is increasing with the aging populations of North America and Europe. One of the biggest institutions that is making great headway in this industry is the Cleveland Clinic.

Click here to find funding sources in the medical industry, as well as many other industries!

The Cleveland Clinic has spearheaded the industry by leasing the Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center (GCIC), which is a $250 million research and development center. The GCIC has all the things needed for entrepreneurs who are developing new solutions to treat or cure various cardiovascular diseases that plague today’s Western society. GCIC helps the cardiovascular industry on several fronts, including an incubation program that allows entrepreneurs to use their facilities to learn how to use the latest state-of-the-art equipment and work with leading specialists in the field.

The GCIC Incubation Center is conveniently located in the center of the Cleveland Clinic campus and gives entrepreneurs access to field equipment, conference rooms, and business centers to help advance cardiovascular medicine and market new treatments and drugs to improve the cardiovascular health to cardiac patients worldwide.

The GCIC’s board of directors is chaired by Dr. Steven Nissen, MD, who is also the chairman of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and is a board certified doctor of internal medicine and is a professor of medicine at Ohio State University. He also sits on the boards of nine medical publications.

Click here to get access to resources like the Cleveland Clinic, and from other industries as well!

VCgate can help you find the investors and the resources that you need for your company. You do not necessarily have to be in the biomedical industry. You can be in any industry and you can easily customize your search to find funding sources in your respective industry and stage, as well as your geographic location.

All the best, and good luck!

Amir

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You are about to miss out on this incredible deal. You want to raise venture capital, don’t you? I know you need that venture capital and you are having trouble to raise the venture capital you need. Why aren’t you having success? The answer is simple. You lack the resources that can help you win over the investor and contact potential investors. Well, not for long if you act now.

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If you act right now, you can get a one-of-a-kind deal that you will probably get only once in a lifetime! Remember, this deal will end in MIDNIGHT TONIGHT! You need to act now for this incredible deal! This a special team effort with Growthink University and VCgate to help YOU get the capital you need! That’s right! If you sign up for the Growthink University’s Venture Capital Boot Camp, you will get the VCgate Venture Capital, Angel Investors, and Private Investors Database TOTALLY FREE!

That’s right. You’re familiar with both Growthink University and VCgate, and you probably use both of their resources. So why hesitate? Sign up for Growthink’s Venture Capital Boot Camp, and you will get access to all the tricks of winning over the right venture capitalist to fund your company. When you sign up for the VCgate Boot Camp, you will get insider advice on what venture capitalists and other private equity investors are looking for when investing. You will learn the key terminology that you need to know when you want funding. You will also learn what is required to be done before you even go before a venture capitalist, how angel investors can help you get venture capital, and more.

Can’t fly out to attend? Well, don’t worry, you don’t even need to leave your home office to attend the Growthink University Venture Capital Boot Camp! The event is all 100% online and you even have access to video tutorials.

Click here to learn how to win venture capital!

But wait! It gets even better! If you act now, by MIDNIGHT TONIGHT, you will also get the VCgate Venture Capital, Angel Investors, and Private Investors Database TOTALLY FREE when you sign up for the Growthink University Venture Capital Boot Camp. But you need to act now. Get the database that can give you instant access to the same funding sources the big Fortune 500 companies use to raise capital FREE when you sign up. Remember, your competitors are watching what you’re doing, so don’t miss out! Remember! To take advantage of this great deal, you need to sign up for the Boot Camp through the VCgate link and send your order receipt to VCgate.

All the best and good luck!

Amir

Got Twitter?
Then Follow us @ http://twitter.com/vcgate 

Registration for “Venture Capital Bootcamp”
ends at midnight TONIGHT.

Click here and Get all the details

On that page, you’ll be able to register for
Dave Lavinsky’s “Venture Capital Bootcamp” -
the 4-week online coaching program that’ll
show you step-by-step how to:

1. Find investors
2. Contact investors
3. Pitch investors
4. Negotiate with investors

…so you get the funding you need.

Since 1999, Dave’s company Growthink has
helped more than 2,000 entrepreneurs raise
more than $1 BILLION in funding.

In fact, just a few weeks ago, another one
of Growthink’s clients raised $6 million.

Unfortunately…

MOST entrepreneurs fail to raise capital
because they make tons of “rookie” mistakes.

This is your last chance to learn these “insider”
secrets to finding, pitching, and negotiating
with investors, so you get the funding you need
…on YOUR terms.

Click here and Discover the secrets to raising venture capital

Sincerely,

Amir
VCGate.com

P.S. The clock is ticking…

Registration for Venture Capital Bootcamp closes
at MIDNIGHT tonight, Wednesday, June 9th.

Click here now - Don’t miss out!

Got Twitter?
Then Follow us @ http://twitter.com/vcgate 

When seeking angel investors, venture capitalists, private equity firms, and/or debt capital for your new company, your business plan is the most important piece of presentation material you will create.

Have YOU finished your business plan yet?

Click here to finish your business plan for just $1

Investors who you have successfully convinced to learn more about your company will always ask for a business plan. If you manage to keep your prospective investors interested in your company, they will eventually read your entire business plan. The way you present your company in this plan will greatly affect investors’ opinion of you and the growth potential of your company.

Experienced equity capitalists (e.g., venture capitalists) look for a wide range of specific information about your company before pumping money into it. They want to know your company is poised to grow quickly and smoothly towards an “exit” or payout for the investor.

All good business plans contain an executive summary; company analysis; industry analysis; customer analysis; competitive analysis; marketing plan; operations plan; a description of the management team; the all-important financial plan; and finally an appendix containing supporting materials (e.g., charts, illustrations, full descriptions of proprietary technologies.)

This can seem overwhelming, so to orient yourself, here are three questions you need to answer in your business plan:

1. Does my company fill a market need?

Where is the “pain”? What do your customers need, and who are your customers? Your business plan must show that your company is “just what the doctor ordered.” You need to include evidence that people are screaming for a product or service that is similar to your company’s offering. This will give investors confidence that your company can grow quickly.

2. Does my management team have the pedigree to succeed?

Unfortunately you cannot rest your argument entirely on the genius of your business idea. You and/or your management team must have experience and a track record of accomplishment. Highlight team members that have shown success at growing companies in the phase at which your company currently is operating (e.g., start-up, research and development phase, hiring phase, product release, initial revenues, and advanced phases.)

3. Are my pro forma financial statements comprehensive, realistic, and based on verifiable data?

Pro forma statements are best understood as the financial forecast of your business as you will present it to shrewd investors. This section is a fantastic place to verify the realism of your business plan as a whole. This is because, according to a business plan guide prepared by Growthink:

“The figures used in these statements flow from the analyses in every other section of the business plan.”

The first two questions above can be used as oracles for everything you write while preparing your business plan. The third question should be asked after each completed draft.

Growthink business plans have raised $1 Billion in funding since 1999. And for a limited time, you can download Growthink’s proven business plan template for just $1.

Click here to finish your business plan for just $1

Got Twitter?
Then Follow us @ http://twitter.com/vcgate 

Guess what! Did you know that you do not have to put as much effort as you thought in your business plan? That’s right, that is if you get the award-winning business plan templates from Growthink University.

Click here to get the award-winning business plan templates from Growthink

So, what exactly can these business plan templates do for you?

Well, these are the tested formats that have been used by some Fortune 500 companies. You need to know that when you prepare to present a business plan to either a venture capitalist or an angel investor, they have strict criteria for how a business plan is expected to look. Furthermore, this does not only apply to venture capital or angel capital, but to debt capital as well. Loan officers also want to see a business plan before they lend you money from their institution. Now, this will boggle your mind. All these business plans are different. A loan officer expects a specific business plan, whereas the format for a plan to be presented to a vc is also different. Likewise angel investors also have their specific requirements for the format.

All these different formats for your business plans are available to you in these award-winning templates. They are so easy to use that it’s incredible. All you need to do is to place your figures and your company name in the right places and you have a complete business plan. Anyone can do it. There is one downside, however. You still need to do your own research. The only thing is that you have these great templates to put it all together ready for that successful meeting with that right investor for your company.

Best of all, you can download these award-winning business plan templates from Growthink University for only $1 for a LIMITED TIME OFFER!

Click here to download the award-winning business plan templates for $1!

BE WARNED! If you don’t use these templates for your business, YOUR COMPETITORS WILL! Act now and stay ahead from the competition!

All the best, and good luck!

Amir

Got Twitter?
Then Follow us @ http://twitter.com/vcgate