How to Attract Venture Capital

Every year literally billions of dollars are put towards different projects by venture capital investors.

Have you ever wondered what makes some investment opportunities successful whilst others barely get off the ground?

Believe it or not is isn’t necessarily the business idea, produce or service.

Often the vital difference between companies that attract venture capital and those that don’t is preparation.

Here Are 9 Areas Your Business Plan Should Cover If You Want to Attract Venture Capital

1. Your Business Plan Itself. You would be amazed at how many business owners try to attract venture capital without having a business plan in place. Ask yourself: If YOU were a potential investor, what effect would it have on you if the business owner seeking YOUR venture capital didn't have a decent business plan in place?

NOTE: Make sure that your business plan has a professional presentation. You can get a complete corporate look and feel created for it at sites like elance.com or buy one 'off the shelf' at templatemonster.com

2. KPI's (Key Performance Indicators For All Management and Staff. According to Harvard Business School a staggering 40% of business failure is due to poor hiring decisions. Investors like tio see a business that has its bases covered in this area.

Your business will function much better when each key department and player has specific job descriptions in place.

3. A Detailed Strategy For Lead Generation and Lead Conversion. You may well have an awesome product or service but what an potential investor wants to see is how you plan to market it.

4. Business Strategy. The stronger and more laid out your business strategy is the better your chances of attracting venture capital. This is one area where hiring the right business coach or consultant can be a great benefit.

5. Research. Venture capital investors are not interested in 'We think so' or 'Our educated guess is…' They want to see market research to back up your claims of a viable market.

6. Structure. I spoke with an accountant recently who told me he was facing a nightmare trying to get a company ready for investment that was a mash of about seven different trusts - each owning a different division of the core business. His exact words were that it was a 'Structural nightmare from an investors perspective' It always pays to get your business structured correctly.

7. The Offer Itself. So you want to attract venture capital… ok but what will the investor receive in return?

An equity share in your business? If so what percentage? Are you looking for a passive investor or do you want someone who can provide any special skills?

8. Financial's. Investors want to see up-to-date financial's - profit/loss, balance sheet and cash flow statement. Note: This is where a business with financial control systems in place can gain a strong advantage over a competitor as they are working off recent financial and current MYOB files rather than figures that are 12 months old.

9. An Internet Marketing Plan. Being able to show a potential investor a detailed web marketing plan can go a long way towards attracting the venture capital you are seeking.

Some of the Points That Your Internet Marketing Plan Should Cover Are

1. Traffic Strategies. How you plan to get traffic to your website.

2. List Building. What will you do to build your online database?

3. Content? If you plan on creating an authority site (and you should) then you'll need to give serious thought to content. Will your website feature Articles? Testimonials? Podcasts?

These eight points, when addressed can help give you a serious advantage in your quest to attract venture capital!

Paul Wetton is an entrepreneur and venture capital specialist who helps Australian business owners prepare their businesses for potential investors with his unique 'Preparation For Investment' Audit. See Paul Wetton's Blog at http://AustralianVentureCapital.com

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