FIP 69: Funding 1/3 – Are you ready to raise money? With Elizabeth West of iGravity

Today we hear from Elizabeth West of iGravity on the subject of investment readiness and the first steps in fundraising as the first episode in our fundraising series.

On this episode you’ll learn:

* What it means to be “investment ready” and what are some preparation steps that enterprises should consider taking before engaging with investors, including taking time to build an advisory network and going one step further in terms of investigations or iterations on the product or business model. She notes that more than anything else, early-stage companies need constant advice and feedback from friends and critical friends.

* For Elizabeth, investment readiness involves four main elements: an enterprise that really knows its customer segment and the value of its product or service, understands exactly how much capital it needs, and what they want to use investment capital for.

* Elizabeth explains that when she is trying to determining the level of a company’s investment readiness, she does ask for signs of external verification of the company’s efforts, such as the names and numbers of customers and files with all the background research that the company has done.

* Another important item that enterprises need to better highlight is the team – at the end of the day, investors interested in early-stage companies are investing in teams, not a particular idea or product, so the team should be presented thoroughly and professionally.

* She recommends that even for start-ups, companies should go beyond initial signs of traction and do some real investigation into their markets and customers as a way to set them apart from other enterprises meeting with investors.

* Elizabeth also mentions the importance of personality and that entrepreneurs should know that investors talk to each other, so it is important to represent yourself well in every meeting, because impressions will be shared.

* Elizabeth advises enterprises to work closely with the investment officer to become an advocate for your company when the deal is presented internally and not try to push too quickly for the investment to be presented for an investment decision.

* Finally, she shares that early-stage companies should try for multiple outcomes from a meeting with an investor, including a follow-on meeting, critical feedback on the business model, or connections with other investors that may be interested.

Links to Resources:

* iGravity

* TRECC

Connect with Elizabeth:

* Elizabeth on LinkedIn