March 14, 2011
What do Angel Investors expect to hear in a Pitch?
Maybe you have already heard that there are more differences between venture capitalists and angel investors. The main difference is that venture capitalists are firms that invest money that comes from the outside in companies that present a very high potential of growth in a small period of time. Their interest is to have a very high return rate in the shortest period of time possible. In order to achieve this goal, venture capitalists will only fund large projects which can bring them great revenues. Moreover, they will provide a list of influential contacts that can help to the development of the company and a number of experienced managers who will use their know-how in order to increase sales as soon as possible.
Click here to obtain your angel investor funding guide <==== Unlike them, angel investors are wealthy individuals who sustain business projects they believe in. They are not limited from outside, so they can choose to fund whoever they please. This means that they actually invest in smaller projects as well. It is only rarely that they get involved into the internal management of the company that is when they really have a relevant experience to share in order to help the company. All these differences are also reflected in the different ways in which these two types of institutions providing external capital pitch their demanders. As angel investors are more flexible in choosing which company to fund, they have the tendency of choosing closer to their professional background. As it is only normal, they will understand a lot easier the perspectives and the growth options of a business idea in a field they are familiar with. If they have a solid background of knowledge in a certain field, it is only normal for them to find it easier to fund businesses in that field. This is why you should research intensely the professional background of each angel investor before submitting your application. This will make you save time and efforts and will provide you higher chances of succeeding in your search for external capital. After this research is complete, send angel investors the executive summary of your business plan in order to get their attention upon your company and, after letting a few days go by, follow up by calling them in order to appoint a meeting. But there are differences that can appear in the pitching scenario as well. As venture capitalists show the same concern about money and management, angel investors tend to be more cautious to the management skills. As they are generally funding smaller companies, their risks are smaller. So they tend to focus more on the abilities and capacities of the team because they know that is the best way of building a brand which can provide them a high return rate on a longer time schema. Click here to get your angel investor funding guide <==== Your personal approach towards the business, your abilities and your initial capital are just as important for angel investors as your passion and devotement for the business. Angel investors tend to choose entrepreneurs that are not only professional in their area of expertise, but also very passionate about what they are doing. And, if you manage to choose the appropriate angel investor for your pitch, meaning the person who feels passionate about the same field of activity as you, you’ll have a chance of delivering a pitch that is the starting point of a beautiful business friendship and of a mutual support work relationship.
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Hi.
Can you please tell me what should I do in order to have the opportunity of going into a pitch?
Thanks.
Comment by Rick — March 14, 2011 @ 4:37 pm
Hello. First of all, you should make sure that you have a well written business plan and an executive summary of the business plan. After you have decided which are the investors who are likely to invest in your company, e-mail them. But don’t e-mail them your business plan from the beginning. Just make a 200 words summary of you business idea, present it in a easy to read way (using bullets is a very efficient technique) and write a line at the end of the mail in which to state your follow strategy. If they don’t contact you in more than 2 or 3 days, call them back in order to see which are the results of your presentation e-mail. After you have managed to draw their interest on your company, send them the executive summary of your business plan and establish a date for the pitch, when you will also present them your business plan. This is the most efficient strategy to use in order to make sure you will obtain a pitch.
Comment by admin — March 15, 2011 @ 8:37 am