We help entrepreneurs get ready to raise capital. This usually consists of some or all of the following services:

• Business plan development
• Financial forecast development
• Pitch deck (investor presentation) preparation
• Strategy development
• Market research and analysis
• Competitor research and analysis
• Financial analysis
• General coaching and advisory services
• Capital formation strategy

Of course not. Nobody can make that guarantee (and if somebody ever makes that guarantee, it’s a good idea to run away quickly). A good plan is essential, but a plan alone will not get funded. Although we will do our best to help you prepare, we have no control over how well you present yourselves to investors, or how well you answer their questions. We can coach and we can mentor, but at the end of the day, it’s your business and you must close the deal.

If you run a business, then it’s probably safe to say yes. In fact, you may require more than one business plan: one for raising capital and one for running your business. The former is a compact, easily digested strategic document that is designed to persuade potential investors to pick up the phone and invite you to their offices for an initial meeting. The latter is a more detailed document serving as a day-to-day roadmap, detailing the tactics supporting your overall strategy. The former needs to be an attractive document that sells; the latter can be a collection of spreadsheets, lists, research summaries, and other documents stuffed in a binder that you refer to and update on a regular basis. We specialize in preparing the capital-raising business plan, but many of the by-products are suitable for use in the operating business plan.

In general, we charge a pre-determined fixed fee. The fee is determined by:

• The scope of the project, in terms of the tasks and documents you require help with.
• The sophistication and specific needs of your target audience.
• The quality of your existing materials, including early drafts of business plans, financial forecasts, market research, competitive research, etc. For instance, if you have a recent, comprehensive research report from a major market research firm like Forrester, our effort can be significantly reduced.
• The clarity of your vision for your business model, marketing and distribution strategy, financial plans, etc.
• Your availability and willingness to participate in the preparation of the business plan, financial model, and investor presentation.
• The complexity of your industry and business model.
• The availability of industry information.
• The desired timing relative to our workload. In general, “rush” jobs will carry a substantial premium over projects that can be completed as our schedule permits.

Because of these factors, the fees for a typical project, consisting of the preparation of an investor-grade business plan, financial forecast, and investor presentation, can range from a few thousand dollars to several tens of thousands of dollars. By the way, if you are “price shopping,” you should know that price doesn’t tell the whole story. After all, would you choose one car over another simply because of the price? Of course not – there are many dimensions you need to consider.