Growing your brand isn’t easy, as there are many factors to consider when launching your start-up business successfully. Finding funds is one of the most important parts of starting your own business, as it’s more common for new business owners to not have the required funds to get their company properly off the ground.
Securing a good funding plan can be a big reason why your business is able to flourish and grow from being a start-up. Gathering a clear understanding of how to make your business or application attractive to investors will help you improve your investment chances. There are many ways to do this, which we will explore in this guide.
Continue reading to see how you can attract investors to your new start-up business and become a company in which they see huge potential.
Research Investors
Understanding the background of investors can help you figure out if they are a good match for you, as although you want to attract investors they need to be the right kind. Each investor will have different deciding factors that make them want to invest in a business and become a partner, so knowing the criteria of each investor can be very important.
There are several different types of investors, with each of them looking for different types of businesses to invest in. Angel investors will usually be more attracted to start-up businesses to increase their profits, as they see more potential in local businesses. Venture capitalists are different from this as they are more likely to invest in the track record of the business that shows the most potential for rapid growth.
As a start-up business, you should look to make yourselves more attractive to angel investors and those are the ones more likely to invest in your business.
Build Networking Relationships
Finding the right investor can be difficult and building relationships with them can be even harder, as they can be very particular about what businesses they want to build relationships with. Luckily, some events are specifically designed for businesses and investors to interact and network with each other to form potential investment relationships. Angel networks and the UK Business Angels Association (UKBAA) are two examples of highly-regarded founder and investor events.
You can also contact advisers, such as consultants and lawyers, who can help your business make introductions to potential investors and check if you have valuable connections on networking sites. Investment Fraud Attorneys can also help you if your business has been a victim of investor fraud and aid with getting your start-up business back on track.
Develop a Strong Business Plan
Strong business plans should be put in place no matter what the aim of your start-up business is, as it allows you to know where your business could go in the future. It will also be attractive to investors as it shows that you know what you want to achieve, and you have a plan for what costs you might need to factor into the running of your business, such as Xero accounting services, website hosting or marketing expenditure . A few aspects of the business need to be taken into account when constructing an effective business plan, including:
- Business Objectives: Briefly describing your business and what products or services are on offer will give investors a core understanding of your business. Laying out your goals and objectives will also help show long-term plans.
- Skills and Experience: The skills and experience of yourself and your workforce can make investors feel as though they can support your business.
- Audience Understanding: Having a good understanding of your target audience, how you will fit into the market, and why your business can compete is an important part of planning.
- Marketing Strategy: This helps you understand how to attract customers through social media, exhibitions and online advertising.
- Operations: Showing that you know the long-term future of your staff, equipment, and tools makes your start-up business look as though it has more investment potential.
- Financial Expectations: It’s important to outline your start-up’s current profit generation and what you expect your business to generate in the future.
Have a Good Management Team
The management team of a start-up business can be essential for attracting potential investors, as a passionate and experienced team will look more promising. You should mention any in-experience to potential investors, as they need to know what they are investing in. Honesty is the best policy when searching for potential investors. However, it’s important that they don’t feel like they can take advantage of you.
There are five key steps to building a strong management team, including working out what skills you need, figuring out what skills you have, filling the necessary gaps, hiring the most qualified people, and developing your staff’s knowledge.
Create a Cash Flow Forecast
A cash flow forecast predicts the potential profits of your business. When creating this cash flow, you need to ensure that it covers a period that’s at least as long as your cash flow cycle. It’s always best to seek advice from professional advisors before getting started with a cash flow forecast.
There are four steps you can follow to help you with creating a cash flow forecast:
- Decide the period you want to plan for.
- List all of your income.
- List all of your outgoings.
- Work out your running cash flow (Excel spreadsheets are your best friend).
Demonstrate Your Market Potential
When attempting to attract investors, one way in which you can further secure your chances of getting approval and further funding is by being able to confidently demonstrate your market potential. Potential investors need to know that there is a big enough market for what services or products you are offering and that your business also has strong potential, which means that they are more likely to then get a return on their investment.
To be able to demonstrate your market potential, there are different ways in which you can do this, such as:
- Using data from the Office of National Statistics
- Sourcing reports and databases via the British Library Business
- Carrying out surveys using tools such as Typeform
- Conduct market research to get a better understanding of your market
Before reaching out to investors, it’s also a good idea to have a website or simply even a landing page in place which users can be directed to or which can handle a certain action, such as pre-ordering, subscribing to a newsletter or leaving an enquiry. A landing page can be useful to generate interest in your business, or test different messages and designs before the full website rolls out.