Crack the Funding Code: How Investors Think and What They Need to Hear to Fund Your Startup

by Judy Robinett

Overview

Crack the Funding Code demystifies the world of angel investing, venture capital, and corporate funding and lays out a strategic pathway for any entrepreneur to secure funding fast.

Lack of funding is one of the biggest reasons small businesses fail. In 2016 in the United States alone, more than 31 percent of small business owners reported that they could not access adequate capital, and the lack of capital prevented them from growing the business/expanding operations, increasing inventory, or financing increased sales.

This book will show you how to find the money, create pitches that attract investors, and then structure fair, ethical deals that will bring them new sources of outside capital and invaluable professional advice. Crack the Funding Code gives you the broader perspective on:

• how funding works,
• how investors think,
• and what they need to hear to put their money where your mouth is.

Every entrepreneur who reads this book will get easy-to-follow deal checklists, a roadmap of where and how to locate the best funding resources and top business mentors for their industry or geographical location, and a step-by-step process to create pitches that make their idea or business irresistible.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814439838
Publisher:	AMACOM
Publication date:	02/05/2019
Edition description:	Special
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Judy Robinett is a business thought leader who has been profiled in Fast Company, Forbes, Venture Beat, Huffington Post, and Bloomberg Businessweek. For more than 30 years, she has helped entrepreneurs find needed capital by connecting them with venture capitalists, angel investors, and other sources of funding.

Table of Contents

Foreword Kevin Harrington xiii

Acknowledgments xix

Introduction 1

Part I Cracking the Code of Entrepreneurial Success 7

1 The Funding Mindset: How to Think Like an Investor 9

2 The 3 Cs That Investors Seek-and the Dealbreakers That Will Make Them Run 23

Part II How to Find the Right Investors 33

3 Who's Got the Money? Where to Look (Including Some Places You've Never Heard of) 35

4 Your Funding Roadmap: How to Find and Reach the People Who Can Help You 55

5 Network Your Way to the Right Investors 71

Part III What Investors Are Looking For 85

6 The Right Founder and the Right Team 87

7 The Right Business Plan and Clear Financials 101

8 Secrets of Creating and Delivering a Compelling Pitch 127

9 Risk Mitigation: How to Make It Easy for Investors to Say Yes 145

Part IV Closing the Deal 159

10 "I Have an Investor: Now What?" The Valuation, Deal Terms, and When to Say No 161

11 Due Diligence and Closing 179

Appendices 189

Are You a Power Connector? An Assessment 191

Judy Robinett's Top Ten Power-Connecting Tips 200

Successful Pitch Deck Example 201

Due Diligence Questions 203

Due Diligence Checklist 207

Resources 217

References 219

Endnotes 229

Index 243