venture+capital

Over the last few years, I've had cause to spend quite a lot of time pitching and chatting to business angels and venture capitalists, which has given me something of an insight into why they invest in some businesses and ignore others.

I've also spent a fair bit of time with entrepreneurs who are trying to put together business plans, which they think will garner interest and then money from those same angels and VCs.

I can report with full confidence that there is a big mismatch between what angels and VCs really want.... and what entrepreneurs think they want.

The biggest mis-conception amongst entrepreneurs is that either the business idea or the numbers in their financial projections are the key thing that investors are looking for. The reality is that the investors are looking for one thing above all else: