Having a business plan is an absolute requirement when approaching and pitching to angel investors for capital. Its initial purpose however, is not to provide an angel investor with an overly extensive document at the first meeting. It is in fact a preparation stage for yourself.
The steps necessary to create a solid business plan will make you more knowledgeable about your business and much better prepared to answer questions that an angel investor will ask. You will also be much better prepared to justify your financial projections and assumptions.
Although investors will not want to be burdened with an extensive document initially, they will want to see proof you have taken this step and may request to view it prior to making their angel investment.
If you have a business plan then excellent! It’s important that you become completely familiar with all aspects of the plan for your strategy to succeed when meeting with an angel investor.
If you don’t have a prepared business plan then you are not ready to meet with a potential angel investor. Preparing a business plan with all of the required information that an angel investor will look for, helps prepare you to robustly present your business opportunity.
Your Executive Summary
Your executive summary is a vital part of the capital raising process and is essentially your elevator pitch condensed into a paragraph. This is best used when communicating by email or an online angel investment matching service as a teaser to attract the initial attention of an angel investor. You must also have an executive summary available to present to an angel investor at your first meeting. They want something that is direct and to the point and highlights all the key points about your business and the opportunity.
Even if they don’t ask, it’s a great thing to leave behind.
Preparing an executive summary is also an excellent way to further educate yourself on the key points of your proposal.
What to do next?
Once you have created a solid business plan with a short and snappy executive summary you can finalise an Investment Summary.
Your investment summary is a vital part of the capital raising process and is of particular interest to a potential angel investor because it answers the question of what’s in it for them. This is essentially your elevator pitch condensed into a paragraph. What makes this an attractive angel investment opportunity, how much funding is needed, how will it be used, what the return on investment (ROI) will be and when it will be realised. This can be effective as a teaser to attract the initial attention of an angel investor, particularly when using email or an online angel investment matching service.
If you have an Investment Summary already then excellent! Potential angel investors will be impressed that you recognise the importance of the numbers in the success of your business. However, they will also expect you to be able to justify these numbers and demonstrate a clear understanding of how you arrived at your conclusions.
If you don’t have an investment summary, you are not prepared to meet with a potential angel investor. The investment summary is of particular interest to investors because it highlights what’s in it for them.