The document discusses how to present a business plan to investors. It notes that different types of investors invest at different stages, from angel investors for seed funding to venture capitalists and private equity firms for later growth stages. The key criteria investors look for are whether the market is large, if the product/service has potential to be dominant, and if the founding team can execute the plan. An effective presentation focuses on the business model, market opportunity, implementation strategy, team, and use of funds, keeping the first half for the pitch and second half for Q&A. Investors seek teams addressing big problems with clear plans to achieve milestones and profitability.

1. www.thehubforstartups.com
How to present a business plan to
investors
Prajakt Raut
Co-founder - Applyifi
Founder – The Hub for Startups

2. Different investors invest in different
stages of a startup.
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3. Typical • Rs.50 cr +
investmen
t size
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Angel Investors
Seed-stage funds/
Early- stage VCs
VCs / PEs
Investor
types
Stage of
investmen
t
Concept Risk Stage Early-Growth
Stage
Growth Stage
• Rs.25 lacs to Rs. 5 cr
• Sweet spot – INR 1cr –
3cr.
• Rs.2 cr - Rs.50 cr
• Typically between
Rs.10 cr – Rs.25 cr

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Your focus should be to convince
investors that your startup is a
good investment opportunity
Unless you can convince them that your startups will create
value, investors will not be interested
Path to profitability – at scale – is preferred over quicker
profitability on smaller scale – they are playing for higher
valuation
(Early stage investors will look for 8 – 10x returns in about 3 – 5 years)

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Key criteria for investors
1. Is the market large
2. Does the concept/product have a reasonably
strong chance of being a dominant player
3. Is this the team that can do it

6. You till typically get about 20 - 30 minutes
for your presentation
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Keep half the time for presentation and half for Q&A
“Show the dish. Don’t detail the recipe.” – the objective
of the first presentation should not be to share details
but to excite the investor to meet you again for details
Don’t state the obvious – focus on things that most
people are not likely to know e.g. when presenting about
a solar energy business, data on how renewable energy
is important is not necessary. Most people get it.

7. Investors look for the business around the concept or
product or service. Hence, in your pitch, cover :
- What are you going to do – concept, customer segment, biz model
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- How are you going to make money – business case
- The size of the opportunity – potential
- How are you going to do it – implementation plan
- Current status
- Who’s behind this - team
- Competition & Risk factors
- How much money do you need and what will you use it for
- Exit Options

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What do investors look for?

9. Investors look for competent and committed teams
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- Passion and deep interest in the domain
- Deep understanding of the dynamics of the
business around the concept – who will buy, why
will they buy, challenges, etc.

10. Investors look for plans with practical milestones
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But large aspirations

11. Investors look for teams with focus in the initial
phase
Even when entrepreneurs have identified multiple opportunities
with the concept
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12. Investors look for a strong implementation plan
“According to Gartner, the market will be USD 20 bn in 2020” is
not a reason to invest
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How you will get the first 1000 users or first 2-3 enterprise
customers is.

13. Investors seek teams that have a clearly identified
immediate goals and tasks
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What do you need to do to launch?
What are you going to test?

14. Investors seek a plan that clearly outline how much
funding is required, where it will be used and what it
can achieve
You should seek from angels only as much as you require to go till
you can attract VCs
In rare cases will angel funding be sufficient to take the startup to
profitability
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Finally, investors look for teams they can trust
Be honest about risks & challenges, be open about limitations and
weaknesses
When you tell them where you need help, will they be able to
provide inputs

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In Summary
Investors invest in a business case around products/services that
address large markets
Investors invest in high-quality teams with large aspirations and
who have a clear understanding of what it will take to achieve the
potential
Investors invest in clearly defined plans with practical milestones
Make the investor go back feeling “What a great concept. I think
the market is large and the team will deliver.”

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18. Prajakt Raut
Entrepreneur and Entrepreneurship Evangelist
www.thehubforstartups.com
Co-founder - Applyifi
Founder – The Hub for Startups
Mail : prajakt.raut@thehubforstartups.com
Blog: www.thehubforstartups.com
Quora: www.quora.com/Prajakt-Raut