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How to present a business to an investor: the Arcus guide

Do you want to raise capital for your venture and therefore need to know how to present your business to an investor? This stage of your project can be challenging, but with the right guidance and a solid presentation, you can increase your chances of success.

In this article, we'll describe the steps necessary to effectively present your business to investors. And not only that, but we will also talk to you about technological tools that you can use to validate your business before any investor.

What types of investors are there?

Before you start planning your presentation, it's essential to understand the different types of investors that exist.

This is because everyone has different interests and investment approaches, so it's essential to know them and then convince them to invest in your project.

Some of the main types of investors include:

  • Angel Investors: They are individuals who invest their own capital in the early stages of a business. They are generally interested in innovative projects and tend to have experience in specific sectors.
  • Venture Capital Funds: These organizations invest in startups with high growth potential. Venture capital funds often seek opportunities in specific industries and offer additional experience and resources.
  • Corporate Investors: These are established companies that invest in smaller companies in search of synergies and growth opportunities.
  • Crowdfunding investors: Through crowdfunding platforms, people can invest small amounts of money in different projects or companies.
  • Institutional Investors: They include pension funds, insurance companies and other financial institutions that invest large sums of money in various companies.

These are some of the most common investors. Identifying which type is most suitable for your business will help you focus your presentation and adapt it to their specific interests.

Read more about investors

Identify the objectives of your presentation

Before preparing your presentation, it's important to define the objectives you want to achieve when presenting your business to an investor. Here are three key objectives to keep in mind:

1. Capturing investor interest

Your presentation should be attractive and capture the attention of investors right from the start.

To do this, you can start with an impactful introduction that highlights the most attractive aspects of your business.

For example, you can use interesting facts, relevant stories, or impactful statistics to awaken their curiosity and capture their attention.

2. Make them see the viability of the business

During the presentation, you must demonstrate the viability and growth potential of your business.

To achieve this goal, you must present solid data to support your claims, such as market size, expected growth, and competitive analysis.

It is recommended to use graphs, tables, and visualizations to make information easier to understand and remember.

3. Minimize the perception of risk

Investors always evaluate the risks associated with a business before investing. It's important to address these concerns and show how you plan to minimize risks.

Highlight the strengths of your team, the barriers to market entry, your risk mitigation strategies and anyone involved in the industry and the technologies used that provide a competitive advantage.

Define the structure of the presentation

Once you've identified the type of investor that's right for you and the objectives of your presentation, it's time to structure your presentation.

A well-structured presentation is key to conveying your message clearly and effectively. Therefore, here is a structure that will undoubtedly allow you to attract investment:

Presentation

Start your presentation with an introduction that captures the attention of investors. Introduce yourself and your team, highlighting your relevant experience and previous accomplishments.

It's also helpful to establish a personal connection with investors by sharing a story or an inspirational motive behind your business.

Problem

Identify the problem or need in the market that your business seeks to solve. Explain the context and importance of the problem, and provide concrete examples to support your argument. Investors must understand the relevance of your solution from the start.

Solution

Present your solution clearly and concisely. Explain how your product or service addresses the identified problem and what its unique characteristics are. It highlights the benefits it provides to customers and how it differs from existing solutions in the market.

The market and competition

It provides an analysis of the market you are in and shows its size and growth potential. Describe your direct and indirect competitors and how you position yourself in relation to them.

At this point, it's also important to highlight your competitive advantages and how you plan to stay at the forefront of the market, regardless of its changes.

Business model

Explain your business model and how you will generate revenue. Describe your revenue sources, operating costs, pricing strategies, and financial projections.

Investors want to understand how your business will generate profits in the short, medium and long term. For this reason, you should have all the answers to your financial concerns and generally have a solid business plan.

Technologies used

If your business uses specific technologies or is backed by a technology platform, explain it in this section.

You can detail the key technologies you use and how they contribute to the success of your business. This will help demonstrate the innovation and scalability potential of your project.

Business scalability

Investors are looking for business opportunities that have high growth potential and scalability. Describe how you plan to grow your business, expand to new markets, or increase your customer base.

To achieve this goal, you must present clear and realistic business ideas that show how you will convert the investment into a significant return for your company and for them.

Investment Proposal

In this section, you should clearly explain what you are looking for from investors. Detail the amount of capital you need, how it will be used and how it will benefit the growth of your business.

In addition, it provides information on potential investment returns and the estimated time frames for obtaining results.

You can also state, if that is your objective, the percentages of your company that you are willing to negotiate in exchange for an investment.

Questions and thanks

At the end of your presentation, provide a space for investors to ask questions. In this part, it is crucial to prepare concise and clear answers to address any concerns they may have.

Finally, end your presentation by thanking investors for their time and consideration. Although this part seems unimportant, presenting a business to an investor also requires active listening and courtesy.

MVP, the key to validating your business before investors

In addition to the structure described above, a crucial aspect in presenting your business to investors is having a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).

An MVP is a simplified version of your product or service that allows you to validate your idea and gather feedback from your users before investing large amounts of time and resources.

Developing an MVP shows investors that you've done market research, understand the needs of your customers, and are willing to test and improve your product.

It also demonstrates your ability to make decisions based on data and adapt based on feedback received.

At Arcus, we are experts in using no-code tools that allow you to quickly create functional MVP's.

Specifically, our experience in no code helps companies to develop interactive, scalable and highly affordable MVP's, in a very short time.

And not only that, but our system focuses on generating together with our customers new business models supported by technology. For this reason, before developing your MVP, we first focus on understanding your company, your team and your future vision.

Last Thoughts

In short, knowing how to present a business to an investor can be complex, but by following this guide and focusing on its key points, you can increase your chances of success.

Finally, remember to identify the objectives of your presentation, adapt to different types of investors and develop a solid MVP to validate your idea.

At Arcus, we are ready to support you in this process with our no code tools. Develop your MVP quickly and efficiently, and demonstrate to investors your ability to innovate and grow your business.

Do not hesitate and contact us. We have developed MVP's for successful companies in various sectors and without a doubt we know how to present a business to an investor, with the best technological support for its validation.