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Testimonials

"Things are looking up for me and my business. I have an investment firm from France that is interested in my film "The Desperate Ones". and I am making arrangements to meet with the investors in Hollywood soon. I am still keeping my fingers cross and keeping hope alive. I feel great about this investment firm."
Francis Xavier, Metpix.com


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.


Latest Investors

Qatar > Doha

$50,000 to $200,000

July 26, 2010

Information Technology Management

Canada > Ontario

$0 to $1,000,000

July 21, 2010

At age 20 my personal vision was to build a global brand. With limited formal education and limited capital I set out to build a company from start up to what is today a brand of global products available in over 30 000 retail stores around the world. From a grass roots roll up your sleeves mentality, we relentlessly pushed water uphill, sort of speak, to develop an infrastructure of marketing, sales, PR, operations and finance, that today enables us to facilitate global sales, distribution, product development, strategic planning, and team development. Having said this, our vision now is to seek out tenacious, entrepreneurs and partner with them to support and assist in the development of a a start up, infancy stage company or to acquire all or part of an established business that requires experience, capital and infrastructure in order to grow to the next level. Investor philosophy is one of guidance and support to assist entrepreneurs to get to the next level.

Canada > Alberta

$1,000 to $20,000

July 13, 2010

No investment history. Newly Masters of Science graduate student with engineering physics background. have experience in runing small shop, technical work, small car businees, innovative ideas. would work actively with any science, research, technical, agriculture, even with other businesses in official duties. looking forward to work with startup business with bigger future plan and involvements. would like to see company/business growing faster and bigger.

Canada > Ontario

$0 to $150,000

July 4, 2010

Information Technology Consultant. Private Investor.

Canada > Quebec

$50,000 to $250,000

June 30, 2010

Graduate of McGill University (Mechanical Engineering) and HEC Montréal. Mr. Ryan was a private engineering and project management contractor for 10 years in mining and energy sectors. He purchased stake in Cansolv Technologies or CTI (a Montreal based industrial technology company) in 2003 and assumed role of CFO before taking over as VP Marketing & Sales a year later. He founded the Chinese subsidiary of CTI in 2004 and was its chairman until he left the company in 2009. Mr. Ryan oversaw a fifteen-fold increase in sales between 2004 and 2008 leading to an acquisition by Royal Dutch Shell in December 2008. He has extensive experience in negotiating financing, joint development and distribution agreements as well as structuring complex scope sales contracts (for scopes of up to USD 12 million).

Canada > Ontario

$100,000 to $400,000

June 1, 2010

JAN 2004 TO Dec 2008 Parts 2 Go Trading Corp. President and CEO Responsible for all aspects of running a small business. Sales and Marketing and day to day operations were my focus. Parts 2 Go remanufactured and distributed laser printer parts Territory consists of the US and Canada. At the height of the market Parts 2 Go employed 25 people in manufacturing as well as sales and distribution. • Sales started at $0 at the opening and went to a high of $4M Targeted sales to small to medium size repair companies. Wholesale to medium size distributors. MAY 1994 TO JAN 2004 Danaher Corporation Western US and Canada Regional Sales Manager Motion Control & HDTV Channel Manager Responsible for all aspects of sales and local marketing of all products produced in seven different manufacturing plants located worldwide. JANUARY 1992 to MAY 1994 North American Marking V.P. Sales and Marketing Territory consisted of Canada and the eastern seaboard of the USA.

Canada > British Columbia

$5,000 to $50,000

June 1, 2010

Economist working in sustainable development field. Experience in stock investing and real estate investing. Looking primarily for small green start-ups with earnings.

Taiwan > Taipei

$20,000 to $250,000

May 25, 2010

- 20+ years of management and business development experience internationally (North America & Asia including India and mainland China) working with a global media company - 15 years as an individual investor with 2 specifically directed at entrepreneurial investments - Hold an MBA from the University of Toronto and am currently a PhD candidate (marketing/Internet) working on my dissertation - Operating as a private investor using a Hong Kong based holding company for angel investments

Canada > Ontario

$10,000 to $100,000

May 24, 2010

Involved in the manufacturing, Service and IT industry for over 20 years. CEO’s and President of different Canadian Companies for 8 years. Invested in a number of Manufacturing, Service, Picture production and IT services related businesses. Qualifications: Chartered Accountant, MBA (Finance), Involvement: Can be hands-on, Advisory or Silent depending on the project.

Canada > Quebec

$0 to $100,000

May 20, 2010

I am a private investor with an engineering background and over 20 years experience in the property insurance and risk management industries, the last 5 as a senior manager.This is my first foray into angel investing. I have been managing my portfolio of investments for almost 15 years and have generally beaten benchmarks and indices. I can tolerate a fair amout of risk in an investments provided the fundamentals are sound. I am not a speculator. I usually invest for the long term (5 years+).

Canada > Ontario

$10,000 to $75,000

May 17, 2010

I am a lawyer who has worked in the technology industry for over 20 years. I'm interested in becoming part of an organization that promotes wellness of individuals, something that helps people and makes a difference in the community.

United States > Chandler

$1 to $50,000

May 13, 2010

I have personally invested in micro financing companies, software development companies, and a film all within the last 3 years. I have raised anywhere from $50K to $2.1M US for these projects in addition to my own funds. Most of my investing is run through my financing company: Florin Capital Group. I have partners who invest with me and raise capital depending on the project.

Canada > Ontario

$0 to $10,000,000

May 8, 2010

Started up a real estate company.

Canada > Ontario

$2,000 to $1,000,000

April 19, 2010

I am a medical doctor. My partner, Ignacio Mongrell (presently living in Montevideo, but moving to Canada soon), is interested in active involvement in an investment opportunity. His educational background is in business, and he is currently working with entrepreneurs at the business incubator Ingenio as a marketing and business plan consultant. Ideally he is looking for an opportunity that has the potential to be expanded to the South American market.

Canada > British Columbia

$5,000,000 to $15,000,000

April 19, 2010

Invested to the value of CAD $2 million in Canada, Legal background (litigaton and corporation law) with Board training (ICD) and experience. Interested in Board positions in Vancouver Island start up's. Full resume available, when appropriate.

South Africa > Sasolburg

$200,000 to $1,500,000

April 4, 2010

Male investor, graduated student in Computer Science and statistics. Currently director at various companies within the transportation, warehousing, materials handling, agriculture/fertilizer and aviation sectors. Act as private investor outside South Africa. Past experience and current experience - Supply chain management, mining, environmental rehabilitation, cattle farming, GIS, SAP, chemical logistics/ warehousing/manufacturing

United States > Ashburn

$5,000,000 to $300,000,000

March 28, 2010

25 years as a business consultant presently working directly with the underwriting department of a large private lender. Our lending is based on the cash flow a project can produce and not the collateral of an asset. We focus on fund energy, mineral and green projects with a minimum of $5M and an unlimited Maximum and can fund up to 100% of a project.

Canada > Quebec

$50,000 to $500,000

March 16, 2010

Currently own and operate my own business. I represent a family member looking to invest in various businesses. Said family member has a large successful business, and is looking to diversify and invest in new businesses.

Canada > Ontario

$5,000 to $30,000

February 2, 2010

Looking for an opportunity to increase my networth

Canada > Quebec

$0 to $250,000

January 15, 2010

Currently, I am starting out as an angel investor. I profession is accountant. I feel this, along with the contacts I have will give me sufficient background to deal with potential opportunities. I am a private investor.



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