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General Investment
Criteria:
An idea
that alleviates customer pain that either couldn't be relieved before,
or not at an affordable price by a large audience.
The audience
of potential buyers is large and growing, and can be reached without
multi-million dollar marketing costs (we are not interested in commodity
or consumer products).
A barrier
to entry that can be defended (e.g., a channel, a patent, six years
of development head start etc.)
The pain
was discovered by the team on the street (no theoretical customer pain,
thank you) and backed by market research (e.g., multiple analyst sources)
The competition
is slower, less experienced, and less funded.
The team
has been in the industry that they are addressing but they haven't gone
this far before (they are capable yet motivated)
It helps if:
You have an idea that provides efficiency in markets that are
not efficient.
You have an idea for a business that solves real problems.
Your plan consists of bleeding edge or breakthrough technologies.
Your idea is ahead of the hype. (If the press knows about it,
it's probably too late for us to invest
)
It helps if you
and your team have:
Knowledge of the market, risks and competition.
The ability to articulate ideas into a general, understandable
business plan form or outline. (We are not looking for the perfect,
lengthy business plan.)
Prior experience in the industry you are proposing to work in.
It helps if you
have a general business plan that consist of:
Company background / What the idea is
Product or service
Market size and competitive analysis
Business and operating strategy
Backgrounds of principals and key personnel
Rough organizational structure - who does what
General financials of the business including a swag at 1-3 year
financial projections
Amount of funding sought and use of proceeds
Preliminary proposal as to the general terms of the investment
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