A full snapshot of your intellectual assets and a
considered and strategic plan for deriving value can help attract investors.
What do they look for?
The General Picture
•
The broad category (e.g. ICT/ Manufacturing/ Life Sciences) of your business.
•
A description of your business in one sentence.
The Product/Service
•
A complete description of your business and the product or service being
developed.
•
The value proposition describing the gap/ problem in the market that your
innovation will solve, and why customers will purchase.
•
Information on any sales of the product/service.
Market Information and Access
•
The market that you will be targeting and why.
•
The need in the market and how the new product/service will address the need.
•
The current size of the target market. How much of the market can you expect to
capture.
Note
that where a new market is being created, solid information might be difficult
to obtain.
•
Where the market is located, and how can it be accessed. For example, is a
partner needed who currently has the infrastructure in place to provide the
access, or can your company do this alone?
•
Who is currently in the market? Whether they are direct competitors and if so,
what advantages your new innovation offers over your competitors’ offering.
•
Information on indirect competitors and current products/services satisfying
the needs of the market. For example, prior to video being available, cinemas
fulfilled the needs of the market. Introduction of home video systems created a
new market that had been previously satisfied. The market needed to be
convinced of the benefits of buying a new entertainment system.
•
Who future competitors are, where they are likely to come from and when they
would be expected to enter the market.
•
The barriers to new products/services entering the market.
Competitive Advantages
•
Information on the intellectual property owned by your company and how it is
protected. This includes patents, trademarks, know-how, trade secrets, designs,
and methods.
•
The sustainable competitive advantage the company has, and how you will
maintain this when competitors enter the market to address the same problem.
•
Your company’s core strengths and weaknesses.
Management and R&D Teams
•
Brief bios with core competencies. Business Model – How the Business will make
money
•
A financial forecast over 3-5 years showing projected revenues, gross margins,
total expenses, EBIT.
•
When you would expect the business to break even.
Financing your Company
•
The ownership structure of your business. Name/equity holders(s)/%
ownership/cash injected.
•
How much money you are seeking. The percentage of the company investors will
own.
•
What the money will be used for. Include materials, equipment, people, time,
dollars, and additional technology, new office locations needed to develop and
market the technology / service.
This
information forms part of the operational plan within the Business Plan. Each major
activity should be costed and briefly explained. A 12 month cash flow forecast
should also be included.
•
The risks faced by the company that could prevent it achieving its goals, and
how these will be managed.
•
The company’s current cash balance. If relevant, the company valuation at the
last funding round.
•
The expected monthly “burn rate” over the next 12 months.
•
Who has been approached for funding (including granting bodies).
Click here to access our business plan readiness toolkit and our investor readiness toolkit...GBSH Consult Tool kits
GBSH
Consult is a global management consulting firm proven in dealing with mergers
and acquisitions. GBSH Consult supports clients in making their deals
successful as well providing analysis, trends and recent M&A middle market
transactions, deals and private equity investment. For more information go to www.gbshconsult.com
