What investors require: We interviewed hundreds of serious investors spanning from the earliest stages through exits. The one thing they all agreed on is that they will not look seriously at an investment without one of two things:

• Due diligence already completed by a previous lead investor in this round -OR-
• A detailed investor package already completed to justify their further effort.

Most serious investors and investment groups:

look at hundreds of opportunities each year and
invest in fewer than 10 of them.

They eliminate about 90% of the opportunities in deal screening. Then they start asking more serious questions. If you don't have the answers and the documentation to back them up, the nice ones will explain that you are not ready and that you should come back when you are.

What you need to be ready:

They have about 400 questions they might ask you. And your answers should be in the right form and format for them to quickly and easily understand. Each answer should also be backed up by details and evidence. They will generally cover:

• Governance and management: Who is in charge, how do they make decisions, how do they control the company, are there enough of the right folks, are they experienced enough to get the job done, and can the investor trust them?

• Marketing and sales: Who sells what to whom and how, how big is the market really, how do you price it, promote it, market it, sell it, and why should I believe it will work as you say it will?

• Execution and fulfillment: Who does what to deliver on the promises, what does it cost, how long does it take, how does it change with time, and what could go wrong?

• Intellectual property and special sauce: What are your unfair advantages, how do they benefit the investment, how do they adapt with time, how long will they last, how do they create barriers to entry and stickiness, and how good are they really?

• Financial situation and path: What is your current situation, how will my investment change that, how have you financially engineered the company, how will you spend my money, how soon will I get how much more back, who will be in charge of that spending, and why should I trust them?

• Legal situation and risk: What have you done to make certain that the plans will work, do you know how to run this business, do you have good and appropriate legal advice, are all your contracts in place and reasonable, do the contracts support the things you are and will be doing, and what is the range of potential futures?

Of course, this comes in the form of many specific questions investors ask and documentation that supports your answers. It's not just a matter of outlining these things, it's all about the details, being prepared to say it properly, and showing that you, the CEO, knows these answers and has thought through these issues..

How our Investor Preparation offering helps you get there:

A due diligence report is ultimately what investors are looking for. They want the answers to all of their questions in written form and with full details, reasonably formated and fit together, with executive summaries, tear sheets, a good slide deck version, and more. They want it in their time, and they want to take time to go over it. We help you:

• Create the information they want to see.

• In the formats they want to see it in.

• Supported by the detailed content they are looking for.

• With summaries at proper levels of detail.

We support this at different levels of effort, ranging from pure SaaS solutions to detailed expert assistance. You can sign up today and get the process going right away.