Your Handbook for a Hassle Free Investing

Nikhita Sharma

Entrepreneurship comes with a host of challenges. One of them being, funding. Any startup which is established in order to serve its business objective needs funding. Funding is the fuel on which all the finances run.

The question arises why funding? What is its importance?

Firstly, funding is needed to meet the financial objective of the startup. Secondly, it intends to remove all financial blockages from the path of success of startups. As a result of growing the business and expanding sales, it's often required for the startup to purchase assets such as machinery or vehicles. While it may be able to cover up the business costs with the current balance, these extra purchases increase the importance for funding. Most startups get a wide pool of users as their target customer. Initial growth is huge, and to maintain these humongous growth rates, money has to be spent on customer acquisition.

Moving forward, the question that arises is, how to seek funding from the investors?

First of all, you need to gather information. Yes, it’s true the more info you’re armed with, the better off you will be!

You have to know your idea, your business plan, and       everything related inside out.

Following are some vital points to keep in mind when you prepare your pitch: -

1.   Begin your pitch with an irrefutable story. Through this you will engage your audience straight away.

2.     Emphasize on what’s unique about your product and your unique selling point; this is what makes you different from all others  already present in that particular field.

3.   Impress the investors with what you and your team have accomplished to date; every single success, achievements, etc  thus building some credibility.

4.  Your target market is the key. But obviously not  everyone in the world is potentially your market. Be realistic and focused for whom you’re building this. This will not only impress your audience, but it will help you think more strategically about your plan.

5.     How will you reach your customers? How much will it cost? How will you measure success? Customer acquisition is one of the  most skipped and important sections of an investor pitch.

6.    Again, many people omit this section or don’t provide adequate detail about why they’re different from their competitors. You have to mention your competitors and state how and why your idea and your plan is better. This helps the investors rationalize their dilemma of investing into your idea thus giving them more reasons to invest in you.

7.  How will you make money? Your revenue model. Be very meticulous about your products & pricing and emphasize  on how your market is anxiously awaiting your arrival.

8.       Your future plan is another necessary detail you can’t miss.

9.    Investors invest in people, their talent, their potential first; and their ideas second. Be sure to share details about your whole team and  why they’re the right ones to lead your idea.

10.  If you want the odds to work in your favor, free flow of thoughts and communication between your team and the investors is the key.

Live by these points and neither the investor would go disappointed nor you.