Workshop and panel discussion for determining best operational growth and capital investment plan.

May 17, 2011, Tuesday, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM

2010-2011 Great Lakes Savvy Entrepreneur Series (MITEF-GL with GLEQ and TiE)

The series provides early to mid-stage technology entrepreneurs with guidance on key topics that all startups must navigate to realize success.  This expert panel of angel investors, business advisors and successful technology entrepreneurs will answer your toughest and most important questions on raising investment capital.  Generate new high value contacts across the Great Lakes region to ratchet up your plans and accelerate success while gaining technology entrepreneur best practice insights.  Active and want-to-be entrepreneurs have said this is a great investment for success.

For most startups and early stage technology companies, raising investment capital is the first and most daunting task.  Lack of adequate capitalization puts a great deal of strain on what is already the difficult task of launching a new product or service into the marketplace and building an operational business.   Particularly in bootstrapped start-ups, diversion of management resources to fundraising tasks usually lengthen time to market, which feeds back into a need for even more capital to support the launch.  In the process of increasing the investor “ask,” valuation and terms become more difficult, and investor skepticism about the business can become a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Of course, certain aspects of the capital raising process are inescapable.  There is no substitute for the startup business to working very hard in presenting to investors, meetings, follow-ups, and mental (and business) management of rejection and delays in the investors’ decision making and the due diligence process.

Let me suggest, though, that much heartache can be reduced, and the entire process including these time-consuming parts, can be streamlined and accelerated by developing and following a “Capital Fundraising Plan” (CFP).  We will cover:

1) Forecast your capital needs and compare those needs to your plan for achieving operational success.

2) Correlate needs to business valuation so that you can build a credible case for the investment proposition being offered to investors.

3) Decide what KIND of financing is needed, what type of financing/investment source is best for you, and what investment terms are reasonable to offer in light of your enterprise needs.

4) Questions and Answers raised in developing a CFP.

5) Comprehensive case study of CFP development.

If finding out the answers to this question is important to your venture, then please join the MIT Enterprise Forum and GLEQ on Tuesday, May 17, 2011. More information at:    www.mitgreatlakes.org

–Matt