There are various definite advantages of getting the finance for your new venture through a business angel network, such as you can hope for a bigger pool of monetary resources and that you can trust that some or the other investors in the network will be happy to invest in your idea, because these are usually large groups of people. But, at the same time, if you are trying to grab the attention of such a network, there’s a lot of protocol involved. The general modus operandi is to first submit a proposal, which is quite like your business plan. Once this proposal has been submitted, the network will review the proposal and see whether it is worthy of being considered. Most of the proposals are shot down at this stage itself. However, the ones that are considered are sent to individual investors for their review. Then they decide whether they want to invest in the venture or not.

Hence, though at the façade of it this is a business angel network, there is an individual approach at the higher end. The investor must be agreeable to invest in the business proposal that is forwarded. It is not wrong to say that the entire success of whether an investor will want to invest in a particular venture or not depends on the proposal that is submitted.

This write-up is basically going to be about how you must write a great business proposal which can attract the attention of potential investors. The truth is that investors don’t like proposals that are too unrealistic. They don’t want proposals that make huge promises which are almost sure not to see the light of day. What they want is something that will frankly put forth a picture about how the business is going to shape up, and a realistic projection of the profits that the business will be able to rake in.

They want to see if there are any impediments or obstacles in the path of achieving those objectives. The investors in a business network are experts in business and they know that no business can run without limitations and constraints. Hence, it a potential angel investment seeker tries to gloss over obvious deterrents, the investors are going to lose credibility in the proposal.

The best way is to be frank and to make a clear projection of what is expected to happen. Most angel investors, especially those in a business angel network know that they should not expect any returns on their investment for at least three years after the startup of the business. So it is a good idea to be liberal in describing whatever problems the business might face and even in making projections, the investment-seeker shouldn’t be too creative.

Now, here are some essential points that any business proposal looking for a business angel network investment must cover.

1. The initial investment required is an important aspect. This should include the startup capital and the capital required for buying all sundry equipment that you will need for your business. Be frank about the investment that you will need. A figure of between $25,000 and $50,000 is a capital that most angel investors will consider.


2. Apart from the capital that you are seeking, you should also make a proper summary of what you have invested or intend to invest in the company. Here, if your share is higher, your proposal becomes weightier, because the investors understand that you are genuinely interested in the venture that you are planning to start.


3. You must be very succinct about what kind of product or service the company will manufacture. State in the proposal what you will make and how you intend to go about it. You have to give proper numbers—how many units will be produced in a day, what price you expect to sell them at, what profits you plan to make, how many units you will sell, etc.


4. It is also important to state the localization of your business, in terms of markets. Your business will definitely be more popular in one area than the other. Potential investors of the business angel network would like to know what your expected markets are. If you have conducted any surveys or analyses about this, you must attach the reports.


5. If you have had any past experience with business, you must certainly make that a point in your proposal. You have to delineate what kind of business it was, what role you played in its operations, what kind of performance that business showed, why you terminated your association with the business if you did, etc. Such details show the investors that you have had an experience. Even an experience in a totally different field can be of great help.


6. You must also speak about your competition in real terms. You have to state what kind of competition you expect to face and from where. It is a good idea to include findings on your competition’s reach within your market. You have to then speak about your projections—how you expect to make your own presence felt. It is always a good idea to speak about any unique feature in your product.


7. Speak in detail about your expected employees and the people who will be giving you their services, such as your lawyer, your accountant, etc. You must also speak about your marketing and advertising policies. These points give a twofold picture to your potential investors on the business angel network. They come to know what kind of strategies you are going to adopt to start and expand your business and what kind of overheads your business is likely to have.


8. Most importantly, speak about your projections. You have to speak about short-term and long-term projections both. You have to make realistic assumptions here. Your projections should be like what kinds of income your company is likely to generate in the next 5 years and in the next 10 years and so on. This puts a very clear spin on things.

These are some of the points that make it possible for you to get your finance from a business angel network. Keep them in mind and make your proposal accordingly and you will have a high success of getting through.