Ideas To Deals 8 27

Ideas to Deals Building an Investment Ready Business 1

“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower 2

Build A Business Make Meaning Make a difference Make Value If you succeed in building a business, either funding sources will be fighting to give you money or you won’t need their money. 3

Key to Writing an Operating Plan Do it for you. Keep it simple. Keep it real. Internalize it. Work it. 4

The key to funding is knowing your business and being honest about what you have. 5

Can you answer this: What do you do? 6

OK… Can you put it in a box and sell it? 7

What kind of Business Do You Have? Scaleable, Exponential Growth, Defined Exit? Heavy Service Component, Slow/high Growth, No Exit? 8

Who is out there to buy our Product? How do we get them to buy our product? 9

Valuation What is it all Worth? 10

Key Valuation Issues Valuation of early-stage companies is a little short of random. Valuation is negotiated, there are no hard numbers especially for early-stage companies. Provide a good projection of future value at a potential, future liquidity date and discount back. Know comparables…What other companies, similar to yours, have generated what multiples of sales at liquidity. Build value as you build the company ~ Focus on “Value Inflection Points”. Focus on dollars not percentage 10% of a $20 million company is worth more than 100% of a $1 million company. 11

Suggestions for CEO’s Know what investors look for and expect. Make sure you and the investors are on the same page. Good investors will want you to have a fair percentage of the company. Know why these things are important to investors. Understand the factors that influence value Anticipate investor questions. Look at competitive deals. Learn from the process ~ Listen well 12

Cap Table Example Pre Investment Unit Holders Issued Valuation Pre-investment Post-investment John Doe 500k $500k 25% 19% Bill Smith 400k $400k 20% 15% Jane Brown 800k $800k 40% 31% ESO Pool 300k $300k 15% 15% Note…ESO does not dilute Total Issued $2 mil $2 mil 100% 80% Post Investment Investors 500k $500k 0% 20% Total Issued $2.5 mil $2.5 mil 25% 100% 13

“Cram Down” Example Pre Investment Unit Holders Issued Valuation Pre-investment Post-investment John Doe 481,250 $240,625 19% 11.5% Bill Smith 381,250 $190,625 15% 9.5% Jane Brown 781,520 $390,625 31% 19% ESO Pool 375,000 $187,500 15% 15% Investors 481,250 $240,625 20% 11.5% Total Issued $2.5 mil $1,250,000 100% 62.5% Post Investment Investors Rd 2 1,500,000 $1,250,000 0% 37.5% Total Issued $4 mil $2.5 mil 100% $750,000 raised at $.50 per share; decrease in valuation of 50% 14

Friends, Family, Founder Bootstrapping is building the business from internally generated funds. • You need to establish a foundation for your business. • Build credibility and show that your business has customers and a product that people want to buy. • Focus on customers and cash flow. • Work hard and be creative in seeking ways to drive revenue while holding expenses down. 16

Angel Investors Angel investors are high net worth individuals who are interested in investing in emerging businesses. Two Types of Angel Investors Professional Strategic 17

Professional Investors The underlying reason that they will invest is return on their investment. They invest in spaces they know. They invest with people they know They invest based on referrals from people they know. Invest based on due diligence. Will require professional terms. Looking for a big payout based on a liquidity event. 18

Strategic Investors More interested in the product than the business. Invest based on gut reaction. May take common stock May not look for a liquidity event. May be the friends in FFF (or referred by FFF) 19

Key points About Investors If you take someone else’s money you have a partner. They will want to have some influence on the company to protect their investment. You will probably have to relinquish some level of control over the company. If you are unwilling to share leadership of the company, investors are not the option for you. 20

Institutional Venture Capital The only reason that they will invest is return on their investment. They only invest in spaces they know. They only invest with people they know They only invest based on referrals from people they know. Invest only based on due diligence. Will only require professional terms. They are only looking for a big payout based on a liquidity event. 21

Seeking Investors Investors invest in people and teams that can execute. “A” teams with “B” markets will generally beat “B” teams with “A” markets. 22

Investor Business Plan Summary Format Summary should be “concise” Summary should provide a clear description of the problem you solve. How you solve it. Your business model. The underlying magic of your product. Defensibility of your product. Summary should be no more than “four-pages”. 23

Pitching Question: How can you tell if an entrepreneur is pitching their business? Answer: Their lips are moving. 24

Tips for Pitching Explain what you do in the first minute. “Clearly” explain what you do in the first minute. Articulate the problem in the market and what you do to solve it. Purpose of a pitch is to “stimulate interest” not to close the deal. Keep it tight. 10 slides, 20 minutes, 30 point font. Speak to the audience’s interest. 25

Pitching Plan Title Slide: This is where you tell what you do and give a simple to understand example. Problem: Describe the pain you are alleviating for your customers. Solution: Show how you solve the pain. Business model: Explain how you make money. The advantage you have: Why are you different than everyone else? Marketing and Sales: "Clearly" tell what your sales strategy is. Do not forget to discuss your pricing. 26

Pitching Plan Competition: Show there is enough of a market available to buy your product even with the competition. Management Team: You need to convince the investor that you have the team that can execute and will succeed. Financial Projections: You need a simplified, clear slide here. You need to justify your numbers. Current Status/Future Status: Show your use of funds and how that will drive the growth of the company. You do need to discuss exit options. Who are buyers and when. Don't hem-haw around. show the investor that they can not only expect the company to succeed (which is about you) but also that they can expect a return in a certain time frame (which is about them). 27

Investors’ Interest How are you going to make money? How are you going to generate my return? Are you capable of “executing”? 28

Don’t When Speaking to Investors. Don’t try to BS the investor because they see through it. Get your value proposition across early in case you don’t get to the end of the presentation. Don’t get bogged down on the mechanics of the product. Early on the investor will assume it works as you say it will. 29

Don’t When Speaking to Investors. Don’t ask for an NDA at initial meetings!!! Real investors are not in the business of stealing ideas and trying to develop them. You control what is in the summary and initial pitch. You don’t need to disclose the “secret sauce” at this point. Investors will sign an NDA prior to due diligence. Get over it…You’re not that special 30

http://ideas2deals.typepad.com	22
http://www.ideas2deals.typepad.com	7
http://www.ideas2deals.com	4
http://www.typepad.com	1

Ideas To Deals 8 27

by mbowers030 on Sep 29, 2009

Accessibility

Categories

Upload Details

Usage Rights

4 Embeds 34

Statistics

Ideas To Deals 8 27 — Presentation Transcript