Business Angels – Your project is not the only one that deserves the attention of Business Angels. Therefore, you must put the odds on your side and show that you have the skills with your team to develop your business. In any case, you will need to fine prepare in this delicate process, where the first chance often turns out to be the last. What are the reasons that push a Business Angel to support you in your business project? What are your interests in calling on them? Here are a few tips.
If your chances of being one of the lucky ones are so slim, it’s because of the massive demand that Business Angels networks have to deal with. You have the cards in your hands, and the question remains: What is the best way to show them?
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The Determination
To convince them to invest in your project, you will have to consider two dimensions: financial and human.
Identify all the Possibilities
Before calling on Business Angels, don’t forget that it is possible to finance yourself in various ways and particular thanks to public or private organizations such as associations, BpiFrance, or competitions. Don’t neglect any financing options available to you since they will support your credibility with future investors if you obtain them.
Take Care of your Business Plan
It is also imperative to take care of your Business Plan (summary and clarity of the evolution projections must be the keywords). Do you like to know where your money is going? Business Angels too. Do not forget to specify the path you intend to take and for what purposes you intend to use the funds granted to you. Thus, you will put all the chances on your side during your oral presentation (which also requires synthesis qualities to convince quickly and effectively).
Prepare Answers to Questions from Business Angels
In the same way, prepare your answers to simple questions, particularly those that imply maximum visibility on the viability of your company. What are you bringing back to the market? Is it your product in itself that is innovative or, for example, your way of proceeding from a marketing point of view? What is your capacity for growth in the more or less long term? Will you manage to be profitable within five years?
Be careful, and this upstream work will not be enough. Arm yourself with concrete figures by estimating, among other things, the value of your business. It will allow investors to position themselves on the investment amount according to the share of capital they will own.
Finally, do not leave anything to chance and conduct a market study to ensure that your project meets a need.
Human Relations, the Real Interest of Entrepreneurship
You may think that everything is won at this stage, but it is only an illusion! The approach you engage in represents a long-term task. And if the financial dimension proves to be vital, human relations often take over. To disregard it would strongly compromise the selection of your file, so be subtle!
If your only motivation is money, know that a Business Angel often invests first in an entrepreneur rather than a project. Several reasons can push them to invest and, in particular, to share their experiences/knowledge with more “young” people on projects that they would not have time to deal with themselves. Are you eager to learn from their experiences? Will you listen to these people who will act as mentors to you? To get the best from your investors, you must bring out the best in yourself by proving your skills and ability to carry out the project.
Many qualities inherent to the project leader are often sought, such as positivity, combativeness, open-mindedness. The rates of adaptation that you can demonstrate, which will not be negligible in the eyes of your future potential. Shareholders.
Against all expectations, Business Angels often tend to abandon the market approach (as solid as it may be) in favour of the entrepreneur’s capacities and qualities. And for a good reason, business plans rarely go as planned. And the ability to adapt is often the key to success.
Modesty is a Quality and a Skill
Be careful not to overestimate the valuation of your company and not to give yourself an oversized ego either! Overvaluing your company can cause your file to automatically rejects by certain investors. We must not forget that they also take a risk and that if this risk has little chance of being rewarded. They will tend to favour another file.
It is, above all, a question of selling your project (in the same way that a salesperson sells his product), taking care not to exceed the limits of reason. If you overstate your company’s development prospects, you risk not convincing them.
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