Writing A Business Plan:
Attract Real Investors With Business Plans for Venture Capital

Business plans for venture capital are an entity unto themselves, with strength, determination and quality an absolute given.

The term VENTURE CAPITAL seems swallowed up in mystique, as is a business plan for venture capital investment. These aren't just investors. These are the investors that hold the key to the future for many companies.

Sadly, no more than 2% to 5% of the companies looking for venture capital actually get it.

But that small percentage -- that 2% to 5% -- knows something that the others don't. The successfully funded companies know how to position their companies, and how to present them, how to capture the venture capitalist's attention.

Obviously, this is no small accomplishment, so let's take a closer look at it.

First: positioning companies. This means placing the company in a successful industry, especially one that the venture capitalist knows well. For instance, being a chip manufacturer is probably a pretty good business; but being a chip manufacturer in the defense industry in an emerging technology niche is a whopping good business. Being a successful retailer is a strong recommendation; having a chain of ten successful stores is a very strong recommendation.

It's that "whopping good" business, that "very strong recommendation" that venture capitalists look for.

Venture capitalists need a sense of "Wow".

And it is the business plan that must present that "Wow" to them. Without a strong business plan, there will be no further discussions. Period.

And that is the second thing that successfully funded companies know: presentation may not be everything, but without it, there is nothing.

Business plans for venture capital will have the most unique approach of all. The SBA and banks don't demand the top quality presentations that venture capitalists demand.

This business plan cannot be "canned". Entrepreneurs who use business plan templates at this level of funding won't get this level of funding.

The presentation must be sophisticated, complete, accurate and -- yes -- dynamic. It must represent the company just like an ad in Business Week or The Wall Street Journal would represent the company.

I strongly recommend 3 steps for companies looking for venture capital:

1. More than any other type of business plan, yours must have a solid foundation of marketing stats. Research, research, research.

2. Create the most outstanding business plan possible. There is no second "up", so make that first impression count.

3. Create an outstanding website. Whether your company's business is based on the internet or not, a strong presence here is essential.

It's an axiom that venture capitalists don't invest in companies, they invest in people. Without doubt, an exceptionally strong management team with a so-so product will get a better response than a weak entrepreneur with a good product. The theory is that it's easier to improve a product than it is to improve the people behind it. So strut your stuff -- the VCs are watching. (That means "make that business plan so outstanding that they can't refuse, no matter what the product is.")