Give Angels These Six and the rest is History

by Dave Lavinsky

In your business experiences, you may have noticed that \”selling\” is not particularly hard when you have the right product positioned correctly, in front of the right person who wants it NOW. But, when one of these factors are \”out of whack,\” it can be a much tougher sale to make.

Getting funding from angel investors is the same way. It\’s not so much about how good of a presenter or salesperson you are (though those qualities help). Because the most important time you spend influencing potential investors is done long before you present to them, even long before you even contact them; it\’s done when you prepare your company for funding.

You\’ve probably heard the quote from Abe Lincoln, \”If I had 8 hours to spend cutting down a tree, I would spend 6 hours sharpening my saw.\” The point — you can get a job done with a lot less effort when you are fully prepared.

So how do you prepare?

You prepare by making sure angel investors will want to invest in your company. And they\’ll want to invest if they believe your company has great potential to achieve a liquidity event, and one that enables them to earn a significant return on their investment.

Trust me, you\’re not going to show them that potential with your passion and enthusiasm alone, or a killer presentation. There are certain criteria that, if your business meets them, will show the angel that you DO have the potential. Here they are below…

Criteria #1: Scalability

This is the potential for your company to achieve significant annual revenues. An angel investor, when no future funding is required, might be willing to invest in a restaurant or website that has the potential to generate hundreds of thousands or a few million dollars-as long as a clear path has been laid out regarding how they could get a sizable return on their investment.

The problem is that some businesses are not as conducive to scaling as others. If you offer a professional services business, you can probably only handle so many customers yourself. Even with an office full of lawyers, for example, you would have to hire and manage more and more people in order to grow.

In a truly scalable business, you can multiply your sales without having to greatly increase your resources. You would simply turn the knob up and an existing infrastructure can handle it.

Criteria #2: High Barriers to Entry

Barriers to entry are those things that make it difficult for another firm to compete against you, such as patents or proprietary technology, a unique location, strategic partnerships with larger firms, and long-term customer contracts.

Having first-mover advantage (being the first to offer something) will give you an initial head start. But rest assured, competitors will copy your idea, once proven. You\’ve got to find ways to keep that advantage by excelling so well at what you do that it will take others a long time to catch up.

Your company will need what Warren Buffet describes as a \”sustainable, long-term competitive advantage\” and looks for in the companies in which he invests.

Criteria #3: Strong Management Team

Who is running things (besides you)? The angels must believe in and be comfortable with both the founders and the key operating personnel of the company.

Does your management team have relevant experience and successes under their belts? Are they capable of taking things to the next level? Do they advise you, or are you currently more of a babysitter to your managers?

Experiencing massive growth is hard. You need capable leaders who can deal with the unknown and adapt to rapid change. You need people who can figure things out on their own and pioneer new ways of getting results.

The \”Who\” often comes before the \”What\” in priority. Get the right people together and they will likely choose the right course among all the options. Keep this in mind when hiring managers-will they be able to grow with your company, or does it seem like they will only be capable of their current role?

Criteria #4: Your Exit Strategy

The fourth criteria in which angel investors need confidence is your exit strategy. This means that the chances are good of eventually having another firm purchase you or your firm going public.

You have to remember that it\’s typically through your exit strategy that these investors profit from their investment in you. It\’s hard to get a company to generate enough cash off the top to pay them back over time-the original investment and some interest, maybe, and generating the cash to pay them several times their investment isn\’t likely (or desirable).

So angel investors count on some event happening that will generate a very large sum of money that pays them back, plus their profit. Unless they want to be an owner of your company forever, you have got to choose and prepare for your preferred exit in advance.

If you plan to sell, that\’s the most straightforward way to go. Set a time frame for when you\’d like to accomplish a sale and work consistently towards that end. If you don\’t intend to sell, you\’ll either need to take the company public someday, or negotiate other ways of paying back the angel.

Criteria #5: Being a Local Company Helps

Another important criterion, while not necessarily tied to liquidity potential, is that angel investors tend to invest in local companies. In fact, according to the Center for Venture Research, 70% of angel investments are made within 50 miles of the investor\’s home or office.

Angels often like to invest in companies that are close by so they can visit them and participate in Board meetings and other events. And for retail businesses like a restaurant, they like being able to drive by and think or say \”I\’m an owner here.\”

Criteria #6: The Right Price

Finally, angel investors will only invest when the price is right. If you price your equity too high, angels may not have the potential to reap significant enough returns and will not invest.

If you know a few angel investors or angel groups in your area, find out in advance what kinds of prices and returns they would find acceptable. With this information, you may have to reset your revenue goals to achieve before getting the next stage of funding from angels, ask for less funding to increase their return, or commit to a higher payout if that\’s what it takes.

Understanding and preparing yourself and company to exhibit these six criteria will help you achieve your main goal-to convince angel investors to write you a check.

And not surprisingly, working towards the same objectives that attract angels will also help your business to be more profitable, stable, and positioned for growth even if you decide not to raise additional funding down the road.

So, start sharpening your saw today. Think about and strengthen your exit plan. Think about how you can build a better management team. And so on. And then, you\’ll be able to raise all the angel funding you need.