How to Raise Capital for Your Great Idea: Startup Entrepreneur 201

December 11, 2017

Startup Entrepreneur 201: Why Can’t Most Entrepreneurs Raise Capital for Their Great Ideas?

You’ve done it! You’ve finally made your market-disrupting idea into a real product. Numerous industries will never be the same! The world will know your name! You’re certain that you just brought a tech unicorn to life. You just need to raise capital to get to the next level.

Now what?

Sadly, those billions in revenue that you were imagining don’t just start raining down right at this moment. It’s funny — you can create the most sophisticated software ever seen or build a game-changing AI application, but if you can’t present yourself in the right way, it could all be for nothing.

Innovation Is Great, but Delivery Is Everything

Lots of aspiring entrepreneurs actually know how to ‘walk the walk.’ It’s the ‘talk the talk’ part that they get hung up on. This is the main reason why entrepreneurs fail to raise seed capital. It’s a common fatal error to assume that if you’ve got a killer product, then investors will immediately start throwing wads of cash at you.

Framing your value proposition properly is essential to securing funding. This is easier said than done. Most people have a problem doing this because they can’t convey their narrative properly in their own heads! For instance, tech gurus usually favor the left side of the brain, while marketing genies leverage the right side more. You must be able to see your product from both perspectives, if not more. Even the most creative and academically accomplished entrepreneurs often cannot see the forest beyond the trees.

But the forest, or the framework for your value proposition in this case, needs to be observed objectively and holistically. Taking a step back in perspective from your product is a challenging endeavour, even impossible for some. And every part of your strategy must be impeccable; to say that investors are meticulous in scrutiny is an understatement.

Appearing Flawless Is a Prerequisite

Failure to compose a compelling elevator pitch, produce an alluring information memorandum, or create a top-notch tear sheet could make you lose before you even begin covering your pitch deck. You must have no weak links in your presentation any time you engage with a prospective investor.

Coming up with a product to sell is only half the battle; now you must convince people why they should buy it. But the pressure far exceeds the amount of time, energy, and effort you have left to master the second part of the equation. If only you had invented a pitch bot instead. That would have solved everything!

Well, you probably didn’t invent a time machine either to go back and fix this. So you can only move forward. By this point, most entrepreneurs have resolved that if they simply give it their all, they could figure this conundrum out. Unfortunately, these entrepreneurs don’t learn their lesson until they’re exiting the investor meeting empty-handed.

But what should you do then, you ask?

Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You

You’ve come this far; don’t fall for the same tried-and-failed methods that countless people before you employed. If you don’t do this right the first time, when will you have the chance to do it over?

Paul-azous
Paul Azous, Prospectus.com LLC

Paul Azous, CEO of global consultancy firm Prospectus, explains it best: “Millions of great ideas are generated every day, but the vast majority of them remain just that — an idea. Most entrepreneurs fail to properly present their value proposition, and they unfortunately don’t get second chances to rectify this common grave mistake.” Azous has over 20 years of capital formation advising experience and has helped dozens of companies successfully raise funds.

Taking on tasks like learning private placement memorandum best practices or revising your tear sheet to be simple yet elegant can be completely overwhelming. And implementing your last-minute lessons on these subjects could be disastrous.

You need an expert with years of experience. You need someone who knows what resonates with investors and can frame your value proposition to be picture-perfect. This is exactly what we do here at Prospectus. We are the secret weapon of successfully funded startups.

We know how to shape your offering to be insatiable to investors. We understand the nuances of presentation. Potential investors will be wondering why they haven’t heard of you sooner and how can they do more business with you. Leverage our expertise so you can keep innovating, and we’ll keep you looking sharp.
Alternate Titles:

  • Why Can’t You Raise Capital for Your Great Idea?
  • Why Most Entrepreneurs Can’t Raise Capital for Their Great Ideas
  • Why Can’t Most Entrepreneurs Raise Capital for Their Great Ideas?
  • Why That Great Idea of Yours Will Never Get Past the Whiteboard Stage
  • Why You’ll Never Raise Capital for that Great Idea of Yours
  • Why Most Entrepreneurs Will Never Succeed at Raising Capital

  • How to Raise Capital for Your Great Idea: Startup Entrepreneur 201

    Full disclosure: Above content courtesy of republication rights provided by corporate marketing and branding firm The JLC Group whose senior rainmaker is also a director of Prospectus.com. Benjamin McDermott, Contributing Writer