VC Secrets: Show Me the Money

Dear ,

As promised, here is your new issue of the Expert-zine.

VC Secrets: SHOW ME the MONEY

   By William F.(Bill) McCready Founder
   CEO/Founder, Venture Planning Associates, Inc.
   http://www.ventureplan.com

MONEY IS LOOKING for a GOOD INVESTMENT!

     Did you know there is more money looking for
     *a good investment* than there are *good deals*
     looking for MONEY?!

If this is true, why is it so difficult to get financing?

How do you BUILD a BRIDGE between your project and
the financing you need? Simple: Write a killer BUSINESS PLAN.

Entrepreneurs would receive more serious consideration from
VCs, angel investors, and other potential funding sources
if they realized that they are selling a financial package to
the financial marketplace, rather than their product or service
to a consumer. Your business plan is your financial package.

WHAT EVERY INVESTOR WANTS TO KNOW

The goal of every business plan should be to address upside
potential, downside risk, management,  potential  dilution,
and liquidity issues. Investors are constantly comparing one
investment against another and ranking them in numerous 
categories. At a recent Venture Capital Conference we attended
150 business plans were reviewed. Of these, only 25 asked for
specific funding; only 12 had specific uses of funds; and
only 5 had exit strategies for investors!

To EVALUATE YOUR OWN PROJECT, put yourself in the place
of the investor who wants to know the answers to these seven
questions:

1. How Much Can I Make? (ROI expected.)

2. How Much Can I Lose? (Loan guarantees or other contingent
   liabilities.)

3. Who Says This Thing Will Work? (Third party verification of
   assumptions and markets.)

4. Who Else Is In The  Deal? (The management/investment team 
   and their qualifications.)

5. How Big is the Market? (Is it growing? Is it hot?)

6. How Will the Company Reach Its Clients? (Verification of 
   marketability.) 

7. How Do I Get My Money Out and When? (Exit strategy for IPO,
   Acquisition or Merger.)

BUSINESS PLAN DO's and DON'Ts

1. DO keep the business plan as short as possible without
   compromising the description of your venture and its
   potential.

2. DON'T over-diversify your venture. Focus your attention
   on 1 or 2 key products or services.

3. DO include thorough resumes and job functions of your
   management team. 

4. DON'T use technical jargon. 

5. DON'T estimate your sales on the basis of what you can or
   would like to produce.

6. DON'T make ambiguous, vague or unsubstantiated statements.
   Be precise about market size, rates, etc. 

7. DO involve your management team in the preparation of
   the business plan.

8. DO disclose any current or potential problems with your
   venture.

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    NOTE: The regular published price of this package is $75. 
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*** ============================================== ***

HAVE YOUR BUSINESS PLAN REVIEWED BY PROFESSIONALS

The old saying *you can't see the forest for the trees* holds
a lot of water when it comes to entrepreneurs and their
business plans. You are just too close to the situation to be objective. You can
also overlook very obvious missing pieces,
missed market opportunities and under-estimate the competition.

Before you put your Business Plan on the street and start a
road show with funding sources, it is an excellent idea to get
at least three outside opinions from sources completely
independent of your business.

These reviews should cover:
  - the market and market strategy, 
  - the financial aspects of the proposal,
  - the management team and operational aspects.

But before you start the review process, you may want to
take another look at the VENTURE PLANNING CHECKLIST. This 
is the FREE report you received when you first subscribed
to the Expert-Zine. 

If you can’t find it, we would be happy to re-send it to you.
Just send a message to marketing@ventureplan.com with this
on the subject line: * Re-send Venture Planning Report*.

*** ================ BIZ PLAN REVIEW =============== ***

BUSINESS PLAN REVIEW BY a VENTURE CAPITALIST

A review by Venture Planning Associates, Inc. includes a 
review by Venture Capitalist, written recommendations, and 
two hours of phone consultation. Plus, we guarantee
turnaround in 3 business days.

For details, see
http://www.ventureplan.com/orderpops/reviewbp.html.

*** =============================================== ***

Watch for the next issue:

VC Secrets: Stages of Venture Capital
____________________________________________________________

This FREE newsletter is distributed by subscription only. 
____________________________________________________________

http://www.expert-zine.com or http://www.ventureplan.com

Teri McCready, Publisher  
Tel. (858) 457.3434     email: marketing@ventureplan.com
5370 Toscana Way                 San Diego, CA 92122 USA

Copyright 2000-2002, Venture Planning Associates, Inc.
ISSN: 1529-1316

Everyone's an expert in something, but almost no one
is an expert in everything!
         Teri McCready, Publisher, Expert-Zine
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Received on Saturday, 20 September 2003 00:59:08 UTC