Angel investors, who are also simply called angels, can be a tough nut to crack. Keep in mind that many angels are retired individuals who have been either high-ranking executives in multi-national companies or successful individuals with their own corporations. As such, they have made more than a few business presentations themselves, which gives them the valued experience of knowing which entrepreneur is botching the job.
Well, why botch your 15 minutes of presentation when you can ace it? When your sales pitch work, you can work on your business vision with the required capital on hand.
Be Prepared to Answer Questions
In any business presentation, you must be prepared to answer questions from the panelist. Always remember that your business plan coupled with slideshow presentation is just a small albeit significant part of your sales pitch, not to mention that this is your first opportunity to impress the angel investors. However, the question-and-answer portion of the business presentation will clinch the deal in your favor mainly because it shows your knowledge of your company and your business as well as your passion.
What kind of questions can you expect from the angel investors? Here’s a few sampling:
- Why is your product or service better than your competitors’ offerings?
- How large is your target market?
- How do you plan to acquire and retain customers?
- How much profits have you made and expect, if ever the money pushes through?
- What are your alternate strategies when your primary ones fail to generate the desired results?
Think of a job interview except that you are not just selling yourself as a professional but your company as a profitable venture, too. Indeed, confidence, passion and leadership are qualities you must possess in sufficient quantities.
Be Ready with an Exit Strategy
Don’t make the mistake of failing to show angel investors how they are going to make money from their investments on your company. This is called the exit strategy because it provides the angels with a good way to exit your company after making money off it.
Most angel investments will take a maximum period of 8 years before the investors will exit the company. Such exit usually happens when the desired return on investment is reached as well as when the company is sold or goes public. This means that you should be able to make favorable projections on profits for at least 5 years.
Be Ready with Your Manpower Complement
Angel investors are not looking for one-man operations simply because this is not a realistic proposition in any modern business. You must then be able present a full complement of manpower with the right set of skills to carry out the company’s operations. You should be prepared with the credentials of your team just in case the angels will ask.
On a side note, you can take advantage of the angel investors’ own expertise in business management, if and when they are already on board. You will be provided with recommendations on certain matters. You are well-advised to take it since your investors have a stake in your company and, thus, will not do anything to harm their investments. But first, nail your business presentation-cum-sales pitch.