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© Solis Advisory 2022 – all rights reserved
site designed by digitalstoryteller.io
When choosing an investment partner look for several key factors. Ask questions like: do they meet your needs? What is their track record with investments? Does their culture match with your own? Are they trustworthy, verified by industry peers, and how stable is their firm? Once you can answer these questions, you’ll be able to narrow down the partner that is best for you.
Investment bankers are closely monitored by FINRA and the SEC, they are licensed and accountable to a high standard of ethics. Choosing to work with an investment banker means you are getting expert advice around your financial transactions, capital raise, equities, and debt instruments.
Ask yourself these questions when looking for a capital raise:
If these are terms you haven’t heard before and these questions brought up even more question for you, you are at the right place. Reach out for a consultation!
There are several things you need to consider and have in place before raising capital. First, you need a solid business plan that clearly outlines your business and where it is heading. Next, you need a substantial network of relevant people and companies, from partners to suppliers and vendors, that are integral to your business. Additionally, your business needs to have some indicators of momentum to show that your plan has legs.
First thing you need to do is figure out how much you need to raise based on your current business plan. Second, figure out how you want to use this capital if you get the targeted capital raise. Third, be prepared to move quickly and facilitate a due diligence process proceeding.
Questions to help prepare you:
Has your Company raised capital and if so how much? How much do you want to raise for this round? Do you have the proper investment firms to contact? These are a few of the questions you need to answer to start your Series A. Be prepared to show how you will use these funds and your timeline for future Series of funding.
To raise your seed round you will need a pitch deck to relay your story clearly and compellingly. Pull together a list of investors you’d like to work with, and do your research into each one. An Investment Banker is very helpful in this process, and at Solis Advisory, we use multiple databases to find the proper prospective investors. Schedule your pitch sessions with enough time between to adjust to feedback.
Knowing the right investment funds to approach and having the proper content is very important in your Seed Round. Your Company needs a pitch deck that will interest the reader without giving away all your information or the content is too long. Hiring an Investment Banker is very helpful in this process, and at Solis Advisory we can help you with this process.
A pitch deck is essentially a presentation of your business plan. You want to tell a story and be engaging so that you can connect with potential investors. Keep it concise with one idea per slide and a clean, professional, and thought out design. The best impression comes from knowing your company’s numbers, branding, and the deck’s content inside and out. So, practice what you will say before presenting.
The best way to make a business model “investor-friendly” is make sure it is rock solid with little to no “what-ifs”. Identify your target audience. Articulate your business process – how does your business run? List any outside resources. Develop a strong value proposition. Be clear about how you will take market share. Leave room for innovation and growth so investors can see the potential of your business.
Research, research, research. Identify at least three vertical industries, locate key market players, pin point venture capital and angel investors who have already proven to be working in your vertical. If you choose to work with our team at Solis Advisory, we use multiple databases to find the proper prospective investor for your company.
Both methods are the process of turning debt into equity. With a minority recap the owner retains ownership of the business, while a majority recap sees the owner ceding ownership in favor of eliminating debt. If a recap is in your future, you’ll need a full accounting of all your shareholders with an “as of” date letting them know their shares are eligible for purchasing.
When building relationships with potential investors, the least effective method is to cold call and email. While that may seem intuitive, work on finding a thread of connections instead. The introduction is far more likely to lead to a conversation if it starts with a trusted referral. When you do get a warm introduction, make sure you have your elevator pitch down cold, You only get one shot at a killer first impression. Have your deck ready to send in a compressed PDF format that looks good but is not too big to email.