CNNMoney:
When it comes to funding your start up idea, a well honed business plan may get you in the door, but for most venture capitalists it’s the person behind the plan that makes or breaks the pitch.
CNNMoney.com asked several venture capitalists to reveal what they look for in entrepreneurs before they will even consider investing in their start up. And for the most part, they were all in complete agreement.
Peter Boni, president and CEO of Wayne, Pa.-based Safeguard Scientifics investment firm summed up 5 key characteristics that backers look for: ‘passion, focus, people, innovation, and product.’
Boni’s firm, which has invested in QVC and Novell, as well as many of the VCs we spoke to, generally look for investment opportunities that are at the revenue stage, which means the product has already been introduced into the market place, customers can be quantified and the competitive landscape can be defined.
The typical investment is between $3 and $10 million. But to score that kind of cash, entrepreneurs should take heed of the following criteria… read on.
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