Any discussion about investors and entrepreneurs will quickly turn into a business plan. How important is this and what should it include? The best business plan is the investor pitch deck. It is short, agile, flexible, and can be profitable. How to build it
Contact Details
Tell us who you are and how to contact you to keep track. The business card is not enough. Make sure it is on the cover of the presentation and on the closing page. Your contact information should include a standard name, email, and phone number; as well as things like website, blog, and Twitter address. You want to tune in for the long haul; RSS and Twitter followers do just that.
Team
Most inverter presentation boiler plates leave this behind, but I think it belongs to the front. It is being bought by a venture capital firm. Perhaps the business plan will not survive the first six months. I hope you have gathered a team that is smart, talented, and agile enough to strive for strong plans. The team presentation, even on a small scale, should be about talent and proven performance.
The Big Idea
The idea should be great, but it should be edible. Can an investor get it in 30 seconds or less? Can the customer pick it up in 10 seconds or less? Ideas should have problems and solutions, but don’t forget the fun. Many of the most popular and best-funded ideas on the market today are Twitter, Facebook, Myspace’s time-wasters.
Big Market
There are many factors in choosing a company for financing, but this forces investors to look for companies. It also makes investors look like flocks of sheep from time to time. If I say that millions of people browse their web pages on MySpace every day, I am looking for the next MySpace. Find a great market. Find macroeconomic trends. Build a business around or around them.
Show Me the Product
Nothing is sold to investors like a ready-made beta version. Ideas are hard to understand and everyone sees them differently. If you can shorten it to a working prototype, beta, or production demo, you’ll argue otherwise.
Show Me a Customer
Investors love customers. It’s even better if you can show them one or two. A satisfied user will tell your investor why you bought it. Ask them to provide the desired problem/solution slide.
Why Do People Buy?
The client may have already closed. But if a real customer doesn’t tell the story, help your investor see that person. I always believe that stories and situations work much better than demographics. The mountains of data and line graphics aren’t close to initiating the emotional reaction of millions of people from elementary school to the elderly with unique white headphones sprouting from their ears.
How Do You Find These People?
That’s really a million-dollar question, right? How do you get these spreadsheets filled with people who are constantly checking or writing their credit cards? A good start here will speed up your chances. Try to show that you have discovered this, at least in part. Indicate where you got first users and beta users. Isn’t that something to be magnified? Does it go beyond your friends and family?
