28.07.2009 20:14:59

Investors Network Team

We were recently looking at a number of business plan presentations and the one presentation specifically looked like a real opportunity. Unfortunately, the presenting team was making one of those typical  errors while presenting to us: The presentation was entirely focused on the product and nothing what soever was said about the company itself.

Whats your point you may be wondering? Despite the good presentation, we could not help but think of who the company is, do they have other products, in what position are they to bring the product to market. Who is the management team, do they have the people to make this happen? It is one thing to present a great idea, but quite another to bring the product to the stage where it is selling. Do you want investment, or are you looking for the knowledge backup and support also?

Investors invest in companies, not products. A great product is obviously an important place to start, don't get me wrong. But the industry outlook, competitive space, management team, financial model, sales channel, pricing structure, etc. are all important to the equation. Make sure to spend a balanced amount of time on all of the aspects of company building, not just the how great a product you can build. If anything strays from the standard Investor formula, be prepared to spend more time defending it. Business investors don't mind moving away from the typical entrepreneur-Investor relationship, but remember that if you are asking for both investment and time, you  will need to spend more time justifying why it makes sense.

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