© 2009 Getting the Investors’ Attention... And Secure Funding! 1

© Objectives  Today’s Objectives  Overview of the entrepreneur’s dilemma  Understand what attracts investors BEFORE they investigate an opportunity.  Understand what convinces investors to invest in the opportunity.  Understand what entrepreneurs should do to attract the investors’ attention … and ultimately secure funding!

© 2009 The Entrepreneur’s Dilemma... Crossing the Valley of Death 3

© Valley of Death Commercialization ResearchProduct DevMarket Dev Friends & Family Capital Research Grants Institutional Capital (Venture) Valley of Death  Initial seed capital and government grants but …  Longer than anticipated commercialization Source: “Commercialization Success in Early Stage Technology Companies”, Rocket Builders, 2004.

 Companies have many needs as they develop and commercialize products and follow best practices  Timing will vary and many phases may be repeated ResearchProduct DevMarket Dev Venture Capital Research Grants Friends & Family Capital Market Research Business Plan Marketing Plan Product Launch Lead Gen & Sales Large Vendor Partnering HR Recruiting Leadership Development Mezzanine Debt International Markets Solving the Entrepreneur’s Dilemma Angel Investment © 2009

© 2009 The Hook... What attracts investors 6

© What is the Hook?  Before we get into the elements of the Hook … a reality check It’s NOT your great idea!

© Elements of the Hook Market Opportunity Value Proposition Sustainable Competitive Advantage Execution Plan 4 Elements of the Hook

© 2009 The Bait... Why investors invest 9

© What is the Bait?  Before we get into the elements of the Bait … a reality check It’s NOT your great idea!

© Elements of the Bait Company Valuation Operations Plan & Milestones Return on Investment Exit Strategy 4 Elements of the Bait

© 2009 The Bite... How to get investors to invest 12

©  Before we get into the elements of the Bite … a reality check It’s NOT your great idea! How do you get the Bite?

© Solid Bite from Solid Evidence  Building Solid Evidence requires Market Research.  Market research is …  Information gathering for the purpose of making better decisions.  A way of finding out what people believe, think, want, need or do.

© Solid Evidence to Solid Business Model Business Model Validation Sustainable Competitive Advantage Market Research

© Why is it used?  Enables better planning and decision making  Identify and capitalize on opportunity  To reduce financial risk  To maximize financial reward Sustainable Competitive Advantage Business Model Validation

© Go-to-Market Planning Market Assessment Market Planning Revenue Planning Process Phases Go-to-Market Plan

© MPR’s ™  Markets  Size  Trends  Segments  Pains  Customer Pain  Value Chain Pain  Requirements  Customer Requirements  Channel Requirements

© About Rocket Builders  Planning and Executing Revenue Growth  Reducing Risk and Improving Outcomes for Key Milestones  Market Entry  Product Launch  Strategic Partnering  Strategic Planning for Investment or Exit

© Thank you! Contact Thealzel Lee&Vicki Prince-Wright Phone Phone