Consider these points when presenting your company:

1. Have a solid business plan. A plan should cover what problem your business solves, who are the customers, the management team and the competition, and spell out projections for cost and revenue. Keep it short; no one will read a plan longer than 20 pages.
2. Giving a professional presentation is key to impressing investors. Learn PowerPoint – it's a business-meeting standard.
3. Be prepared to answer any and every question about your business and be willing to open the books to potential backers.
4. Ask the investors how they are going to help you besides opening their checkbooks.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• Angel investors (groups of individuals who make investments as opposed to venture capitalist firms that manage funds in the billions) are a good route for a startup that hasn't received any outside funding yet. Having angels looking out for you will also help to impress VCs.
• One page of financial projections is enough. Investors want to see basic data such as how many customers you're shooting for, but don't have the time to wade through pages of Excel spreadsheets.
• Set realistic goals in your pitch that show you know the market and how tough it is. Having sales projections of $100 million in the first year won't impress investors and will make you seem naive
• Keep your presentation to between 30 minutes and an hour. Putting investors to sleep won't help your cause.