How To Prepare For An Investor Meeting

Are you trying to raise money for your new venture? Have you been downsized, laid off, or bought out of a corporate job and now are ready to strike out on your own? Chances are you will at some point in your start up phase need outside investors.

The first thing to appreciate is that things move very slowly when you chase other people's money for your business. The first meeting you have with potential investors is a chemistry test, Be confident. Be honest. Deal from strength. Don't go in desperately looking for money - one of the biggest mistakes an entrepreneur can make is to deal from a position of weakness, appearing as though you need gas money to make it home, rather than thoughtfully wanting funding from the right investors in order to grow your business.

It's a little like show and tell from grade school. Bring your product, if you have a prototype or a working model. Drawings, professional sketches, or samples can bring an idea to life. You've lived with this idea for a long time but the investor is brand new to the concept. Help the investor understand and appreciate its value. Not every company has such an obvious way of demonstrating its product during the funding process, but the same ingenuity that helped you form your start-up will likely be able to devise a similar demonstration.

Be flexible. Be patient. And most of all do not be too sensitive."I've seen many entrepreneurs lose investors because they could handle a critical question. A potential investor also has valuable advise in addition to cash," added New York based investor Peter Klamka ( http://www.peterklamka.biz)

Manage your time. The investor will respect a tight presentation that is mindful of everyone's time constraints. Thirty minutes is the most you can expect in a preliminary meeting. If the investor is interested, there will be follow up meetings, phone calls, emails, trips to see your facility and other types of due diligence. Your job right now is to assess whether or not you actually want to be in business with this funding source. The first meeting will give both parties a chance to assess the communication styles and expectations. Building a successful business with outside investors is challenging work and good communication is one of the most critical elements to determining success or failure. Learn everything you can and respect the process.


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David Webb is a freelance writer and student of human moves. He believes that if you are the best at something then rich can be arranged. Rich can come fairly easily. He is working on a book about Walt Disney as an entrepreneur. You can follow him on
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