For an entrepreneur to find his/her way to an Angel Investor is a tough ask. There are a myriad of options and if you havent done it before it is particularly difficult to find your way through the crowds to the right Angel for you.
Last night I went to a networking event where the guest speaker was Paul Grant. Paul has started, grown and sold three businesses of his own and run a very large Angel network. He now owns and runs http://thefundinggame.co.uk/home.aspx
In his presentation which lasted approximately 90 minutes he took us through some of the pitfuls entrepreneurs fall foul of and provided some very practical insight.
Probably one of the things that made Pauls presentation so useful – is not that he has been there and done it (he has) but he generally steers clear of technical speak and simply tells you the steps involved in gaining funding.
Something he obviously felt very strongly about is that you should desperately try to get your business up and running earning some revenue before you seek backing. Certainly do not spend your time month after month perfecting a business plan at the expense of starting your business. If you can prove your business model an Angel investor has one less bargaining chip; i.e. when you can point at a system that works it is less of a risk to the investor.
I guess if you’ve seen Dragons Den – this is very consistent with that – the thing they always want to know is how long you’ve been running the business and the numbers.
If you are thinking of going down the Angel Investor route and its not something you have previously dealt with I would suggest The Funding Game is a good place to start.