New York Investment Network

Business Plan Tips

What Investors Are Looking For In A Plan

Investors, whether angels or VC's, are looking for the same things when reading a business plan. They want to know how big the opportunity is, whether this is the right team to exploit the opportunity, who the competition is, what the risks are, and why they can expect this team to implement successfully. Your job in writing the business plan is to address these questions convincingly and clearly.

Emphasize Your Real Strengths

Highlight what your team brings to the table. If your business hinges on a particular competency (for example, understanding the procurement process), your plan will be more persuasive if one of your team members knows something about it and that is brought out in your plan. Rather than including generic resumes of team members, tailor the resumes to draw out the experience each member has that will make him or her a valuable contributor.

Get To The Point And Make It Clear And Comprehensive

Investors see many business plans. A 20-page plan which clearly lays out your business is far more likely to be read than a 100 page plan. Today, some entrepreneurs are using a 15 slide Powerpoint presentation. If your text is short and punchy, you won't need to repeat yourself, because the reader won't be bogged down keeping ten chapters in their head. Reading the same thing over and over, even if it's in different words, can get really tiring. The more you use brevity and give each concept a single home in your document, the more people will want to read it.

Write In Plain English

If you can't explain your idea in English, either you don't understand what you're talking about (What is a transaction enabled atomic journaling database server, anyway?) or you haven't simplified the idea enough. Think, revise, and try again.

Get Rid Of The Hype

Yes, we know you will be the "premier insert product category here of the Internet, achieving 99% market penetration with 60% customer retention in 3 months". Your product will reach "new heights in customer experience through the use of personalization and one-to-one profiling and customization". It will be "user friendly" because you will be creating a truly "ecstatic customer experience". It is a "quantum leap forward" in the marketplace for product category here. Um, yeah. Believe me, we've read it before. About a dozen times today, in fact. (And by the way, the phrase "quantum leap" really doesn't mean anything.) Stick to a tight, simple explanation of your idea. Convince your reader you'll be the best because your idea is the best, not because you can string a dozen buzzwords together.

Use Quantifiable Information

In each section, back up your assertions with solid facts. Even if you are a new venture and cannot give specific figures on the performance of your business, quote figures for the industry or your competitors. These real figures carry more weight than your assumed projections and give more reality to your plan.

Choose A Huge Market

Especially in the internet world, investors are looking more at the market than at the detailed specifics of your financials. Choose a market that is big enough to be an obvious good opportunity. A business which targets teenage girls who listen to music and has a reasonable chance of capturing 90% of the girls that are online is a huge opportunity. A business which targets net-savvy SAAB mechanics who need prosthetic limbs is not.

Local Investors

United States > California

Private Equity and Debt Placement - Principal. We are a boutique private investment firm managing companies that raise money for select real estate, hotel, casino, business, technology, energy, marine, and entertainment projects, worldwide, exclusively through direct private placement with our investors. The fund raising process is straight-forward, transparent, very low cost, and essentially risk-free. We presently have over a billion dollars of registered investor capacity. Please contact us for further information.

$1,000,000 to $25,000,000

Austria > Dornbirn

I'm a finance consultant for an investor group from all over the world. The group of people with whom I work have one of the largest database of investors with more than 10 years of experience and hundreds of finished projects .

$50,000 to $100,000,000

Turkey > New York

i am 40 years old. i'm individual investor.i live in Turkey. i would like to invest in NYC any interesting project. i have a small company. i have some investments in turkey at various areas. so that will be first time out of my country. i have been in nyc few times. my experience usually wholesale products from east west such as china,india,indonesia.i can be silent investor give to money. or i can attend according to project with some products. sorry my english not enough:) but i have a lawyer in nyc. so he is following my business process.

$10,000 to $50,000

United States > New York

Let the games begin

$3,000 to $65,000

United States > New Jersey

I'm an individual (single male) investor living close to NYC. I currently own and operate a consulting business of my own in the technology sector. I'm interested in investing in interesting business proposals that either fit a unique niche or after analysis and market research have a high probability of success. I have investment experience in real estate and the equity markets. I can also potentially partner with other investors. I would usually prefer an advisory or hands off role but depending on the business may be interested in something further.

$1 to $1,000,000

United States > Texas

Private Investor Source has over 340 Private Investors in our group, we Introduce Entrepreneurs & Business Owners to Investors. We also have access to Commercial Lenders as well as 100 Million Programs.

$150,000 to $100,000,000

United States > New York

Looking for investment opps and bus dev role with tech or new media startups in NYC Atlanta or New Orleans to take advantage of the technology and digital media tax credits. Have 9 years of successful sales experience with startup tech research firm in NYC and maintain ownership of several relationships in the digital space on Madison Avenue.

$5,000 to $25,000

United States > New York

I am the Founder and CEO of an angel investment vehicle focused on seed and early stage investments. My previous experience includes over 10+ years in the financial industry acting as a Chief Administrative Officer for multi-billion dollar private equity firms and hedge funds, a Director of Recruiting, an Investment Analyst, and an Investment Banker. Most recently, I was the first employee in a multi-billion dollar private equity firm where I created numerous operational areas (human resources, recruiting, compliance, employee agreements, insurance coverage, healthcare/benefits platforms, etc.), established global offices (NY, HK, London, Mumbai), and created the firm's Intranet and website.

$10,000 to $50,000