SpeedFunding – 5 Steps To Success

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3 minutes is all you have. 3 minutes to make your pitch, 3 minutes to make your case, 3 minutes to transfer the passion you have for your business to the panel of Angel investors, 3 minutes to change your corporate fortunes.

SpeedFunding is the high pressure, high reward means by which business funding facilitators Angels Den bring together idea rich, cash poor entrepreneurs with wealthy business savvy investors just itching to find the right business to hand their cash over to. But what makes a SpeedFunding event a successful exercise for an aspiring entrepreneur? Here are my top 5 fundamentals to SpeedFunding:

1. Preparation is key to SpeedFunding success: You walk out to make your pitch and sitting in front of you are one or more powerful successful wealthy individuals. You suddenly realize that the future of your business may well be wrapped up in how well you present it and your throat goes dry as all your body moisture is instantaneously transferred to every pour in your body. Not only are you now wishing that you had opted to leave your jacket on for the pitch as your shirt is rapidly becoming more humid than Hong Kong in the rainy season, but you’ve forgotten your pitch and now stand open mouthed and mute in front of the increasingly frustrated Angel investors… It doesn’t have to be that way. Prepare to be perfect. Practice in front of the mirror or friends and family. Create prompt cards to refer to. Know your facts and figures and be aware of the magnitude of the SpeedFunding event well in advance to manage your nerves.

2. Angel investors are not monsters, but they’re not small and fluffy either: One of the most common SpeedFunding event fears is that the Angel investors will be monsters, turning on hapless presenting entrepreneurs like a lioness on her wildebeest prey. This just is not the case. Angel investors will have come, sometimes from very far afield, to hear your pitch. It is therefore in their best interest to make sure that if your idea has merit, even if you are struggling with your pitch, that they draw the information they need from you. These are hard nosed businessmen and women that you’ll be pitching to, they know their stuff and they also know what they are looking for, but they have no interest in reaping monstrous revenge on you if you stumble a little. That being said, a confident pitch is always far more likely to be productive.

3. Be 100% truthful at all times: An Angel investor is a shrewd individual with enough disposable wealth to be able to offer your business a substantial financial boost. They, mostly, will not demand reverence, but do treat them with respect and honesty. Rather than opting for the safer (relatively speaking) option of allowing their money to sit in a bank earning interest they have decided to take the riskier path of investing in businesses that they believe have what it takes to achieve great things. To be economical with the truth in order to persuade an Angel to invest their money in your business is a fool’s errand. As successful businessmen and women Angel investors are adept at sniffing out the fibs in any SpeedFunding presentation. If you are caught in the act you will instantly lose all respect and your chances of Angel investment. Honesty is always the best policy when SpeedFunding.

4. Know your facts and figures: If you have ever watched the TV pantomime that is Dragon’s Den you’ll have seen many a nervous entrepreneur publically humiliated for not knowing their facts and figures. Whilst a little extreme it does push home a very valid point, to not know your current accounts and financial projections could be devastating to your presentation. Angel investors will always be looking at whether they believe your business will make a profit and whether you have the skills and knowledge to achieve their and your expectations? Your financial awareness is a major factor in their investment decision.

5. Have a business plan: To appreciate how your business has developed to date and what its plans are for the future are fundamental to the success of your venture and your SpeedFunding presentation. The formation of a comprehensive business plan is a subject of much nervousness for many new to business, but it is simply the past present and future story of your business in summary so that anyone looking at it can appreciate its potential. This process will require you to focus on the facts and figures of your business (see point 4. above), and to plan for its future growth and development, both of which will be of great interest to Angel investors. If you have structured your business plan correctly it should hold the answers to any questions the Angels might throw at you.

SpeedFunding is an exciting, adrenaline filled experience that can end up being extremely profitable for all concerned, but you need to plan for success. Angels Den will be offering hundreds of businesses the opportunity to present their ideas and inventions to Angel investors at SpeedFunding events throughout 2009. So practice, practice, practice and then go to www.angelsden.co.uk to find out when the next SpeedFunding event is happening in your region.