MOVING
BEYOND
THE FIRST
DATE…
© 2009 North Venture Partners, LLC | www.dontgosouth.com | www.northangels.com

1.0
Taking a new path
can sometimes
be incredibly
lonely.
On your marks, get set, hold on…
If you’re reading this, that means we’re interested in taking the next step
towards making your venture a success story. But before we decide to move in
together, exchange vows, and live happily ever after, we’ve still got work to do.
The process of raising capital in the private equity market can often be
misunderstood. So to help familiarize you with our process, and what teaming
up with us might be like, we first want you to to understand a bit more about
how we work.

We’re Actually On The Same Team.
Like most Angel investment groups we do not manage a fund. We provide our
investor members with a service, which at the most basic level, is a filter for
sifting through thousands of investment opportunities.
Contrary to popular belief, we don’t just write checks like a VC. We (the group
managers) usually have to work twice as hard to get all the parties around the
table excited to work together. This means that we are in this together. We are
both going to work towards the same goal; getting your venture funded.
2.0
Investors expect us to make it easy for
them to make an informed and intelligent
investment decision. It’s our job to make
investing more educated, empowering,
and rewarding. Ready to team up?
Is our job easy? Hardly. Managing a group of successful, critically-thinking
high net worth investors is no walk in the park. To wage this war we’ve armed
ourselves with the best possible processes and tools to enable us to be highly
effective at giving your venture significant traction.
To get where we need to go, we’re going to have to work closely together.
This isn’t a game show, and the photo ops with a giant check are rare. But one
thing’s for sure, the coaching and feedback you’ll experience will be unrivaled.

How Can You Stand Out From The Crowd?
Most Angel groups are buried in submissions from entrepreneurs who have
“remarkable products, stellar financials, and a world-class management team”.
Or at least that is what their business plan would say if they had the chance to
read it. More often than not, the business plan gets only a quick look.
3.0
The truth is most investors simply can’t
take the time to read thousands of
business plans. So you’ll have to put
together a strategy to get your business
plan noticed. That’s where we come in.
Do the math: Right now there are over 37,000 business plans on AngelSoft.
There are over 100,000 plans on FundingPost. There are over 6,000 plans on
Funding Universe. If an Angel investor tried to review all these plans for 30
minutes each it would take over 33 years reading 8 hours a day, 5 days a
week, for 52 weeks a year.
Bottom line: Blasting your business plan out to several hundred Angel groups
isn’t effective unless you can get past the first glance test. Don’t worry, we can
help get you a second look. It’s not rocket science, its just basic branding.

It’s Time To Break Free From The Broken.
Before the internet, entire industries emerged that helped investors find “good”
entrepreneurs; trade shows, print publications, and an army of investment
banking connectors who helped introduce entrepreneurs to investors (for a
large percentage of your company of course). You can spend half your career
(and life savings) at trade shows and more often than not all you would have to
show for it would be a desk drawer full of name badges.
4.0
Today’s investors rely more than ever on
their filter of trusted referrals and
connections with friends. Creating
relationships with investors is hard
work, and it’s going to take time.
This traditional process needed to evolve, not because it wasn’t an effective
method for discovering a high number of venture investments, but because
investors needed an easier way to reduce their number of investment options
down to a more manageable and quality figure.
Working on your business with investors requires you to invest time, energy
and effort. The good news is we’ve got an all-star roster of players and
resources that can help fill in the gaps and set your venture free; keeping it
moving in the right direction

There Is A Smarter Way To Find Capital.
While we have to admit there is an intoxicating rush from pitching your
innovative venture in front of an audience, the end result usually feels more like
a hangover. Investors with more questions than answers, and entrepreneurs
leaving wondering if their choice of wardrobe sealed the fate of their company.
5.0
True understanding of a venture doesn’t
happen during a 15 minute pitch in a
hotel ballroom. The quality of time you
spend is far more important than simply
pressing a card into the hand of a
random investor.
We know that this process can be frustrating. If you feel like you’re wandering
down the beach looking for buried treasure, you aren’t alone. Raising capital is
challenging and the success rate for “strong” companies is well under 10%. Don’t
get discouraged, having faith in your vision, your business, and your abilities is
what sets you apart from the other 90%.
While we can work on positioning your business in a way that can enable you to
have the greatest possible chances at funding, we’re not guaranteeing anything.
If this were easy, everyone would do it.

Seeing Your Venture Through Investors Eyes.
One thing we’ve learned is that in order to get stronger you have to be willing to
address your weaknesses. This is your warning, nobody likes to look at their
deficiencies. Working on your soft spots is hard, but in order to reach your
goals you’ll have to dig deep and grind it out.
6.0
From deconstructing the financials to
target market analysis; the strengths
and weaknesses of each venture
opportunity are reviewed in detail so
investors and entrepreneurs can make
a confident assessment based on
reliable data, not just intuition.
20+ Pages of Rigorous Insights & Scoring Comparative Graphing & Performance Chart &
Venture Analysis Across 8 Categories Written Analysis Executive Summary

A Long Hard Look Pays Off For Everyone.
Ultimately investors and entrepreneurs are betting on the same thing: the
success of the business. A three year study of 539 Angel led investments
conducted by the Kauffman Foundation found an extraordinary insight.
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“Comparing investors who spent less
than the median 20 hours of due
diligence and investors who spent
more, shows an overall multiple
difference of 5.9X for those with high
due diligence compared to only 1.1X
for those with low due diligence.”
Excerpt taken from “Returns to Angel Investors in Groups”, a comprehensive study of 539
Angel led investments. Robert Wiltbank, Ph.D. and Warren Boeker, Ph. D., 11/2007.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur betting your career, or an investor betting your
capital on an exciting new venture, what type of return on investment are you
seeking? 590% or 110%?
If a venture doesn’t succeed nobody wins, so it’s in all of our best interest to
stress test the business well before we start running full speed. The good news
is digging into your business and finding the specific points that need extra
attention arms you with a plan to move forward with clarity and conviction.

Pointing You On The Right Path to Funding.
North’s objective analysis and contextual scoring of thousands of new ventures
is the foundation of our program. It’s what makes us different. It’s what makes
us better. It’s our secret 11 herbs & spices. But the Venture 360 Report is only
the first step in building momentum and helping you achieve your goals.
8.0
Upon completion of the program, the top
scoring Venture 360 Reports are
published to individual investors, other
Angel groups, and institutional investors.
“DealBase.com truly enjoyed working with North Venture
Partners. Their Venture 360 report is proving to be
beneficial to our fundraising process by giving
prospective investors an unbiased and impartial analysis
of our business. The process itself was quick and
painless, and the resulting report and associated
discussions with the North team included some highly
valuable insights and feedback on our business plan – an
unexpected, and greatly appreciated benefit.”
- Sam Shank, CEO, DealBase.com

A Buzzer Beater Comes With A Lot Of Sweat.
We truly believe that success comes through hard work and persistence, this takes
time, and together we can help achieve your goals.
10.0
Michael Jordan was once cut from his
high school basketball team. Sometimes
setbacks prepare us to reach even
greater heights. We all know where His
Airness ended up. Do you know how
you will respond to the challenges that
your business will face?
Each recipient of a completed Venture 360 Report has the option to take the insights
provided and use them to constructively improve their business model, or perhaps
their presentation materials.
While not every venture will need it, this feedback can often identify key points of risk
that are likely investor objections. This ultimately empowers the entrepreneur to
create strategies for addressing and mitigating these risks.
North can re-score ventures after a 90 day “cooling off” period to measure
development progress and the revised strategy or structure which can be a huge
benefit to the rapidly changing dynamics of the early stage business.

Time To Put Some Skin In The Game.
By now you should hopefully understand what it takes to team up with North
and go through our process. It requires commitment, perseverance, and above
all, takes faith in your abilities and the strength of your idea. Nothing
11.0
worthwhile is ever easy.
We think of the Venture 360 Report as
the best possible way to move your
venture forward. For North Angels, this
is the only way.
The Reasons for Going North:
 Build a long term relationship with North Venture Partners.
 Access to investment capital though our Angel partners and investment group.
 Presentation skills coaching.
 Venture 360 Report – a full venture analysis
 Invitations to private events and investor mentorship roundtables
 Strategic business development and fundraising advice.
 Educational materials, programs, and resources.
 Access to North’s network of strategic partners

Chances Are We’ve Got You Covered.
While our roster is deep, we can’t provide value on every venture under the
sun. If a venture falls outside of our coverage areas of expertise, we’ll probably
have to wave the white flag and refer you to a partner for further assistance.
12.0
Creating a bond between entrepreneurs
and a diverse group of Angels forms the
foundation for fostering innovation. Our
breadth enables North to accelerate
ventures across 7 major market sectors.
For each industry there are various
North Market Coverage
economic models, industry standards, and
Media & Entertainment consumer behaviors. Each of these unique
factors is incorporated into the venture
Consumer Products & Services evaluation. The strength and accuracy of
the North database of reviewed ventures is
Software & IT Services
enhanced by our market segmentation.
Mobile Devices & Applications
Note: The overall Venture 360 Report
Business Products & Services scoring and analysis output is calibrated to
seek the greatest possible economic return
Retail / Distribution regardless of market sector.
Sustainable Industries / Energy

Ready to Head In The Right Direction?
We invest significantly in the ventures we team up with, and the last thing we
ever want is a partnership of inequality.
13.0
We believe our time and effort must be
something you value enough to invest in
moving our partnership forward.
A North engagement may carry some costs depending upon which services
and resources you choose to retain. Engagements with our team run from a
few hundred dollars up to several thousands dollars.
Whether you choose to work with North or another third party, do yourself a
favor and first try to determine who can provide you with the most constructive
value back for your time and budget.
What you need to break through more than anything is access to an
experienced and transparent team that can accelerate your vision. Period.
To engage with North and take the next step forward, send an email to
northventure360@dontgosouth.com stating that you’re ready to rock and we’ll
set up a time to talk.
Read more about what we do at: Northern California Southern California
www.dontgosouth.com 1729 Telegraph Ave
Oakland, CA 94612
4316 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90029