It’s well known that the mere prospect of Brexit is hurting the UK economy, with the threat of no-deal growing increasingly prominent and bringing a damaging recession closer to our shores.
With this in mind, it has never been more important for startups to seek out third-party investment, with the progressive Titanium brand offering a relevant case in point. This firm, which is one of the fastest-growing startups in the lucrative security space, recently raised a hefty $200 million in funding from Wellington Management and a host of other large-scale investors.
In this article, we’ll ask how you can attract investors to your own startup and achieve its unique growth objectives.
1. Get your documentation right
There’s no doubt that investors are increasingly demanding in the modern age, particularly against the backdrop of a challenging economic climate.
With this in mind, you’ll need to ensure that you have the necessary documentation to verify your business proposition and the financial model that underpins it.
You should definitely develop a one-page company profile, for example, which should lay out the details of your proposition and reveal why investors should commit to the venture. This should also be a well-presented and graphically designed PDF, as this also guarantees that your brands make the best possible first impression.
You should also provide potential investors with a confidential information memorandum and pitch deck, which highlights the growth rates of your business and how your passion will drive it forward in the future.
2. Make knowledge your key watchword
Before you even contact investors, you need to understand the important role that knowledge plays in securing a desirable and competitive deal.
This applies to various aspects of your business, starting with a comprehensive understanding of your product and the place that it will take in specific markets. You’ll also need to know your markets in unique detail, including their overall size, the demand that exists for your products and the observed behaviour of customers.
We’d also recommend that you get to know your investors, paying particular attention to their histories and investment philosophies.
This not only helps you to target the right investors in the first place, but it also ensures that you can tailor your pitch in the most effective manner.
3. Create a comprehensive and diverse action plan
We’ve already touched on the fact that investors are becoming increasingly selective in the current economic climate, so it’s important that you present a comprehensive action plan that identifies numerous paths to success.
This should include several viable routes to market, as this will provide a safety net for investors in the event that you encounter bumps along the way.
You should at least ensure that you present a primary plan and a palatable alternative to investors while investigating these in detail to determine the viability of these strategies.
Ideally, the more plans and paths to success that you can present the better, so long as you retain a clear focus regarding your priorities. This will certainly minimise the risk that you present to investors and their hard-earned cash!