Monday, September 7, 2009
Capital West Advisors’ Comparative Analysis of Venture Capital and Angel Network Financing:
Identification
Capital West Advisors maintains a very comprehensive database of investment contacts which currently consists of approximately 1000 Venture Capital firms and 100 Angel Networks. For each client, Capital West Advisors will hand select every Venture Capital firm and Angel network in the United States that is appropriate for its client in need of financing. The decision on whether to present a particular client to Venture Capital firms or Angel networks can often be solely determined according to the amount of capital the client is seeking. Whether a client is looking for Venture Capital or Angel Network financing, Capital West Advisors will identify every appropriate Venture capital firm and Angel Network for the particular company, submit the business plan, executive summary, and financial statements, and follow up as extensively as possible with each venture capital firm. Capital West Advisors follows up for up to 3 months with each and every venture capital firm and Angel Network to ensure that it has been For both Venture Capital and Angel Network introduction campaign, the single most important component is following up which represents approximately 90% of Capital West Advisors’ labor in its venture capital introduction services and approximately 70% of Capital West Advisors’ labor in its Angel Network introduction services (due to the significant labor needed to fill out the applications).
Angel Networks will typically invest within the range of $200K to $2 million. Venture Capital firms will typically invest in the range of $1 million to $50 million per investment. If a client is seeking under $1 million, Capital West Advisors will typically submit the business plan only to Angel networks. If the company is looking for over $2 million, Capital West Advisors will typically submit the business plan to only venture capital firms. When the company is seeking between $1 million and 2 million, Capital West Advisors will often submit the business plan to both Angel Network & Venture Capital firms.
On average, if a company is looking for $1 million, Capital West Advisors will be able to identify 10-20 Angel Networks that are appropriate to submit the business plan to (highly contingent upon the nature of the industry and geographic location). If a company is looking for $1 to 2million, again Capital West Advisors will be able to submit the business plan to 10-20 Angel Networks, but will also be able to submit the business plan to a handful of Venture Capital firms, which we will often selectively only choose these smaller venture capital firms that are somewhat within the geographic location of the client at hand. When a company is seeking over $1 million, Capital West Advisors will typically be able to identify approximately 75-150 Venture capital firms that are appropriate primarily affected by the popularity of the industry and the geographic location.
Submission
The process of submitting to Angel Networks is slightly different than the process of submitting to Venture Capital firms. Submitting to Angel Networks is a highly more extensive submission process which often requires the filling out of comprehensive 1-4 page applications in a high quality format. Venture Capital submission is typically done through email or website submission. The vast majority of Angel networks will invest in only a specific geographic region, which could represent a city, state, or tri-state region. There are approximately 8 out of 100 Angel Networks though that will invest anywhere throughout the United States. The majority of Venture Capital firms also have some type of geographic focus; however, it is typically a wider geographic focus and approximately 35% will invest in companies located anywhere in the United States; however, the majority of these ‘open-minded’ venture capital firms will still lean towards companies with a few hundred miles of where they are located.
When following up with Venture Capital firms, Capital West Advisors will typically make a very strong effort to get a particular Associate or Managing Director to review the business plan. At times, this could represent a number of individuals, but the majority of the time, there will be 1 or 2 particular Managing Directors that are appropriate to target based upon the particular business model and Capital West Advisors has relationships with and the specific contact information of many Managing Directors that is has developed over time. Capital West Advisors venture capital database represents a wide range of venture capital firms that invest in various stages of growth and industries. Capital West Advisors’ database contains the address, specific contacts at each Venture capital firm, email, website information, and every investment criteria factor, which include stage of company, investment amount seeking, industry, and geographical focus. The most popular industries that venture capital firms invest in currently are information technology, internet, software, healthcare, biotechnology, energy, media, and business services.
Follow-up Process
The process of following up with Angel networks is different than the process of following up with Venture Capital firms. The core focus when following up with Angel networks is to have them refer the business plan to appropriate investors, which can be inside or outside the network, getting the Angel Network to review the business plan, getting the Angel Network to invite you to meetings. For Angel networks there is typically 1 to a handful of important ‘gatekeepers’ of which Capital West Advisors maintains relationships with a strong proportion of these Angel Networks. Angel Networks typically represent a large conglomeration of accredited high net-worth investors who make individual investment decisions; it is often that 2 to several investors will collectively make a co-investment. It is also possible that 2 different Angel networks can make a co-investment.
Important Company Features (Start-up and Early Stage Companies)
The following are a few elements, which are particularly important for start-up and early stage companies seeking financing:
Management Team: The Management team is one of the most important elements of a business model from an investor’s perspective. We will often recommend to clients to place an Advisor (s), additional key executives or even an interim Chief Executive Officer. An interim executive placement is accomplished by typically first engaging interest by sharing your business plan with a prospective Executive and offering an executive agreement which becomes activated upon the successful placement of funding. Capital West Advisors has several Managing Directors and Project Managers that are available to serve in an advisory capacity. Capital West Advisors’ advisory services which can be very helpful from the perspective of business development and strengthen its position to raise capital; it can also bolster the strength and appearance of the Management team. Typically, the more capital that a company is seeking, the more stringent the Venture Capital firm or Angel Network’s requirements will be regarding the strength of the Management team. The elements that they look for in the Chief Executive Officer, are years of experience within the particular industry, a strong history of success within that particular industry. Other factors that will increase the importance of a strong management team, is a company’s business development cycle and the sophistication of the business model.
Existing relationship with Suppliers, Manufacturers, and Affiliate Partners: For a start-up company, it is typically important to the investor that the growth of the company will be turn-key upon funding. In other words, the company seeking financing should have key relationships in place that will allow for various operational elements such as manufacturing or product development, distributors that can help get the product, affiliate partners that can refer business, and any other suppliers that can be pivotal to that business.
Existing interest from potential customers or test survey’s for consumer goods & services
Important Company Features (Growth Stage & Mid-Stage companies)
A growth stage or Mid-stage company also needs to maintain all of the key core components as featured in the above Start-up and Early-stage section, but also must typically maintain one or more of the following:
· A certain level of historical revenues (which can vary substantially) and sometimes they will require certain level of net income performance.
· Economies of scope or economies of scale that can be realized through capital investment and a higher scale of operations.
· New key relationships or management that will better position the company to obtain sustainable growth.
· New contracts or interest from prospective customers, distributors, or new suppliers.
· New Intellectual Property that can yield strong partnership or licensing opportunities.
· New forms of marketing that can create new marketing channels or improve marketing performance.
Capital West Advisors represents over 75 Years of collective business planning, consulting, and capital introduction experience. Please visit our website at www.capitalwestadvisors.com for more information.
Contact Information:
Capital West Advisors
9701 Wilshire Blvd. 10th Flr
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
www.capitalwestadvisors.com
(888) 300-3090
Identification
Capital West Advisors maintains a very comprehensive database of investment contacts which currently consists of approximately 1000 Venture Capital firms and 100 Angel Networks. For each client, Capital West Advisors will hand select every Venture Capital firm and Angel network in the United States that is appropriate for its client in need of financing. The decision on whether to present a particular client to Venture Capital firms or Angel networks can often be solely determined according to the amount of capital the client is seeking. Whether a client is looking for Venture Capital or Angel Network financing, Capital West Advisors will identify every appropriate Venture capital firm and Angel Network for the particular company, submit the business plan, executive summary, and financial statements, and follow up as extensively as possible with each venture capital firm. Capital West Advisors follows up for up to 3 months with each and every venture capital firm and Angel Network to ensure that it has been For both Venture Capital and Angel Network introduction campaign, the single most important component is following up which represents approximately 90% of Capital West Advisors’ labor in its venture capital introduction services and approximately 70% of Capital West Advisors’ labor in its Angel Network introduction services (due to the significant labor needed to fill out the applications).
Angel Networks will typically invest within the range of $200K to $2 million. Venture Capital firms will typically invest in the range of $1 million to $50 million per investment. If a client is seeking under $1 million, Capital West Advisors will typically submit the business plan only to Angel networks. If the company is looking for over $2 million, Capital West Advisors will typically submit the business plan to only venture capital firms. When the company is seeking between $1 million and 2 million, Capital West Advisors will often submit the business plan to both Angel Network & Venture Capital firms.
On average, if a company is looking for $1 million, Capital West Advisors will be able to identify 10-20 Angel Networks that are appropriate to submit the business plan to (highly contingent upon the nature of the industry and geographic location). If a company is looking for $1 to 2million, again Capital West Advisors will be able to submit the business plan to 10-20 Angel Networks, but will also be able to submit the business plan to a handful of Venture Capital firms, which we will often selectively only choose these smaller venture capital firms that are somewhat within the geographic location of the client at hand. When a company is seeking over $1 million, Capital West Advisors will typically be able to identify approximately 75-150 Venture capital firms that are appropriate primarily affected by the popularity of the industry and the geographic location.
Submission
The process of submitting to Angel Networks is slightly different than the process of submitting to Venture Capital firms. Submitting to Angel Networks is a highly more extensive submission process which often requires the filling out of comprehensive 1-4 page applications in a high quality format. Venture Capital submission is typically done through email or website submission. The vast majority of Angel networks will invest in only a specific geographic region, which could represent a city, state, or tri-state region. There are approximately 8 out of 100 Angel Networks though that will invest anywhere throughout the United States. The majority of Venture Capital firms also have some type of geographic focus; however, it is typically a wider geographic focus and approximately 35% will invest in companies located anywhere in the United States; however, the majority of these ‘open-minded’ venture capital firms will still lean towards companies with a few hundred miles of where they are located.
When following up with Venture Capital firms, Capital West Advisors will typically make a very strong effort to get a particular Associate or Managing Director to review the business plan. At times, this could represent a number of individuals, but the majority of the time, there will be 1 or 2 particular Managing Directors that are appropriate to target based upon the particular business model and Capital West Advisors has relationships with and the specific contact information of many Managing Directors that is has developed over time. Capital West Advisors venture capital database represents a wide range of venture capital firms that invest in various stages of growth and industries. Capital West Advisors’ database contains the address, specific contacts at each Venture capital firm, email, website information, and every investment criteria factor, which include stage of company, investment amount seeking, industry, and geographical focus. The most popular industries that venture capital firms invest in currently are information technology, internet, software, healthcare, biotechnology, energy, media, and business services.
Follow-up Process
The process of following up with Angel networks is different than the process of following up with Venture Capital firms. The core focus when following up with Angel networks is to have them refer the business plan to appropriate investors, which can be inside or outside the network, getting the Angel Network to review the business plan, getting the Angel Network to invite you to meetings. For Angel networks there is typically 1 to a handful of important ‘gatekeepers’ of which Capital West Advisors maintains relationships with a strong proportion of these Angel Networks. Angel Networks typically represent a large conglomeration of accredited high net-worth investors who make individual investment decisions; it is often that 2 to several investors will collectively make a co-investment. It is also possible that 2 different Angel networks can make a co-investment.
Important Company Features (Start-up and Early Stage Companies)
The following are a few elements, which are particularly important for start-up and early stage companies seeking financing:
Management Team: The Management team is one of the most important elements of a business model from an investor’s perspective. We will often recommend to clients to place an Advisor (s), additional key executives or even an interim Chief Executive Officer. An interim executive placement is accomplished by typically first engaging interest by sharing your business plan with a prospective Executive and offering an executive agreement which becomes activated upon the successful placement of funding. Capital West Advisors has several Managing Directors and Project Managers that are available to serve in an advisory capacity. Capital West Advisors’ advisory services which can be very helpful from the perspective of business development and strengthen its position to raise capital; it can also bolster the strength and appearance of the Management team. Typically, the more capital that a company is seeking, the more stringent the Venture Capital firm or Angel Network’s requirements will be regarding the strength of the Management team. The elements that they look for in the Chief Executive Officer, are years of experience within the particular industry, a strong history of success within that particular industry. Other factors that will increase the importance of a strong management team, is a company’s business development cycle and the sophistication of the business model.
Existing relationship with Suppliers, Manufacturers, and Affiliate Partners: For a start-up company, it is typically important to the investor that the growth of the company will be turn-key upon funding. In other words, the company seeking financing should have key relationships in place that will allow for various operational elements such as manufacturing or product development, distributors that can help get the product, affiliate partners that can refer business, and any other suppliers that can be pivotal to that business.
Existing interest from potential customers or test survey’s for consumer goods & services
Important Company Features (Growth Stage & Mid-Stage companies)
A growth stage or Mid-stage company also needs to maintain all of the key core components as featured in the above Start-up and Early-stage section, but also must typically maintain one or more of the following:
· A certain level of historical revenues (which can vary substantially) and sometimes they will require certain level of net income performance.
· Economies of scope or economies of scale that can be realized through capital investment and a higher scale of operations.
· New key relationships or management that will better position the company to obtain sustainable growth.
· New contracts or interest from prospective customers, distributors, or new suppliers.
· New Intellectual Property that can yield strong partnership or licensing opportunities.
· New forms of marketing that can create new marketing channels or improve marketing performance.
Capital West Advisors represents over 75 Years of collective business planning, consulting, and capital introduction experience. Please visit our website at www.capitalwestadvisors.com for more information.
Contact Information:
Capital West Advisors
9701 Wilshire Blvd. 10th Flr
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
www.capitalwestadvisors.com
(888) 300-3090
Capital West Advisors Analyzes the Composition of a Business Plan and reveals its Specific Methodology
Capital West Advisors has developed several hundred business plans on behalf of clients and every business plan is fully customized from beginning to end. Business planning is a collaborative and expertise driven process: Capital West Advisors uses a team of at least one managing director, one associate, and one financial planner for every project. The following presents a specic breakdown of the components of each section within the business plan and the methodology that Capital West Advisors uses to develop each section.
Outline
The first step prior to the development of the business plan is the development of the outline. Capital West Advisors develops a customized outline for each client that serves as a framework for the business plan prior to getting started.
Executive Summary
The Executive Summary is typically either the first section within a business plan or can be used as a separate individual document. Capital West Advisors separates the Executive Summary from the core document if this is what the client requests. The Executive Summary typically range from 3-7 pages (depending upon the sophistication of the business model and layout used). The Executive Summary provides a snapshot of the company and the business plan, and it summarizes each of the core sections of the business plan. The Executive Summary must be very concise, well organized, and must successfully and continuously promote the core strengths of the business model. Capital West Advisors often has 2 Managing Directors review and work on the Executive Summary to ensure that it is developed on a maximal level.
Company Overview
The Company Overview provides investors with a detailed synopsis that includes the company description (and history), industry background, key business strengths, capital requirements, and value proposition of the business. The first sub-section within the Company Overview is typically the mission statement, which must be a highly impactful and very descriptive sentence that capitulates the mission of the company and its goals. The next-sub section is the Company Description will typically discuss the location of the business, its legal structure and for an existing business it is typically appropriate to include the Company History in this section. Capital West Advisors typically will detail the Value Proposition of the Business, which indicates every value that the company will offer its customer. The Capital Requirements should list the amount of capital that the company is seeking and a breakdown of use of proceeds. Capital West Advisors will typically present this in a chart format. The next section in Capital West Advisors’ business plans is typically the Industry Background, which provides a brief history that will typically span that last five to 20 years of the industry and discuss how the industry has evolved over time. The last section in Capital West Advisors’ Company Overview is typically the Business & Growth strategy which details in a sequential or phase format that presents the growth strategy of the company and growth of the business model.
The Market
The Market Section provides a forum to assess the fundamental supply and demand factors present in the company’s specific industry. The Market section should contain a very specific market analysis that present current and comprehsnive reports for industry research and a well-developed analysis on the state of the industry and its future. Capital West Advisors utilizes subscription databases to gather market figures, trends, and market segment analyses. Capital West Advisors then organizes this information and performs the market analysis. Often, this information will be specific to a particular geographic region, city, or community. Capital West Advisors will typically develop a target market analysis, which specifically analyses the profile of the targeted B2C and B2B customers. For B2C customers, we will typically gather demographic information (according to the particular geography of the business model’s target market) and we will often present specific prospective B2B customers (for companies with B2B customers).
Another core function of the Market section is to display how your company is positioned within the competitive landscape. Capital West Advisors performs both a macroscopic industry analysis that profiles the basic structure of the industry, market penetration by key industry players, respective strengths and weaknesses of the industry and a microscopic analysis of each of the companies that we perceive to be the direct competitors of the client company. Capital West Advisors provides a detailed description of every relevant direct competitor, including capabilities, target market, and overall business model. This data is then synthesized to develop a unique and comprehensive competitive strategy.
Products and services
The Products and Services Section is a meticulous description of every product and service that the business will offer that generates revenue or otherwise supports the business model. Each product and service that your company offers will be effectively promoted within the context of your company’s overall mission and competitive strategy. Additionally, Capital West Advisors will develop product and service rollout strategies with strategic goals and milestones to maximize sales efforts. In this section, we also discuss the pricing strategy, which can be a general description of the strategy or a specific pricing matrix. In this sub-section, we can also mention package pricing plans.
Marketing Plan
The Marketing Plan is an essential component of the Business Plan that describes the company’s overall marketing and sales strategy. Capital West Advisor will develop a comprehensive marketing strategy for your company to maximize the number of customers and obtain the highest possible returns on advertising. Typical marketing methods that Capital West Advisors implements include branding strategy, print advertising, radio advertising, television advertising, direct mail, public relations, promotional strategy, affiliate marketing, and Internet marketing. Capital West Advisors carefully develops the marketing and sales campaign in accordance with the overall branding & pricing strategies.
Operations Plan
The Operations Plan develops and organizes each of the key elements that comprise the company’s daily operations. Although every business is different to varying degrees, these elements typically include facility layout, inventory control, maintenance, distribution, manufacturing, sales & billing, accounting, marketing, legal, insurance, and equipment requirements.
Management and Staff
Often overlooked, the Management and Staff section is frequently an integral part of the business plan in terms of gaining investor interest and confidence in the opportunity. Capital West Advisors reviews each key member’s expertise to develop well-written personal biographies. For all management and staff positions that have not yet been filled, we will develop a detailed summary of responsibilities to maintain overall continuity.
Financial Plan
The Financial Plan and Corresponding Pro-Forma Financial Statements are crucial elements when negotiating with investors or applying for a commercial/SBA loan. CWA develops defensible financial assumptions to project the five-year Pro-forma Income Statement, Statement of Cash Flows, and the Balance Sheet.
It is very important that the financial statements have properly developed revenue, expense, and growth assumptions. Capital West Advisors develops these financial assumptions during the preliminary business plan along with preliminary revenue and expense projections. Once the client reviews the business plan, then we proceed to further develop the financial statements.
Capital West Advisors uses a monthly breakdown I Year 1, Quarterly in Year 3 and 4 and annually for year 5. Capital West Advisors has ultimate flexibility and will also, at times, develop both Year 1 and 2 on a monthly basis. Once the financial statements are complete, Capital West Advisors develops a comprehensive financial strategy that proposes capital requirements, stages of funding, and exit strategy.
Capital West Advisors’ methodology has been developed over years of experience. Also, the Managing Directors represent over 75 Years of collective business planning, consulting, and capital introduction experience. Please visit our website at www.capitalwestadvisors.com for more information.
Capital West Advisors has developed several hundred business plans on behalf of clients and every business plan is fully customized from beginning to end. Business planning is a collaborative and expertise driven process: Capital West Advisors uses a team of at least one managing director, one associate, and one financial planner for every project. The following presents a specic breakdown of the components of each section within the business plan and the methodology that Capital West Advisors uses to develop each section.
Outline
The first step prior to the development of the business plan is the development of the outline. Capital West Advisors develops a customized outline for each client that serves as a framework for the business plan prior to getting started.
Executive Summary
The Executive Summary is typically either the first section within a business plan or can be used as a separate individual document. Capital West Advisors separates the Executive Summary from the core document if this is what the client requests. The Executive Summary typically range from 3-7 pages (depending upon the sophistication of the business model and layout used). The Executive Summary provides a snapshot of the company and the business plan, and it summarizes each of the core sections of the business plan. The Executive Summary must be very concise, well organized, and must successfully and continuously promote the core strengths of the business model. Capital West Advisors often has 2 Managing Directors review and work on the Executive Summary to ensure that it is developed on a maximal level.
Company Overview
The Company Overview provides investors with a detailed synopsis that includes the company description (and history), industry background, key business strengths, capital requirements, and value proposition of the business. The first sub-section within the Company Overview is typically the mission statement, which must be a highly impactful and very descriptive sentence that capitulates the mission of the company and its goals. The next-sub section is the Company Description will typically discuss the location of the business, its legal structure and for an existing business it is typically appropriate to include the Company History in this section. Capital West Advisors typically will detail the Value Proposition of the Business, which indicates every value that the company will offer its customer. The Capital Requirements should list the amount of capital that the company is seeking and a breakdown of use of proceeds. Capital West Advisors will typically present this in a chart format. The next section in Capital West Advisors’ business plans is typically the Industry Background, which provides a brief history that will typically span that last five to 20 years of the industry and discuss how the industry has evolved over time. The last section in Capital West Advisors’ Company Overview is typically the Business & Growth strategy which details in a sequential or phase format that presents the growth strategy of the company and growth of the business model.
The Market
The Market Section provides a forum to assess the fundamental supply and demand factors present in the company’s specific industry. The Market section should contain a very specific market analysis that present current and comprehsnive reports for industry research and a well-developed analysis on the state of the industry and its future. Capital West Advisors utilizes subscription databases to gather market figures, trends, and market segment analyses. Capital West Advisors then organizes this information and performs the market analysis. Often, this information will be specific to a particular geographic region, city, or community. Capital West Advisors will typically develop a target market analysis, which specifically analyses the profile of the targeted B2C and B2B customers. For B2C customers, we will typically gather demographic information (according to the particular geography of the business model’s target market) and we will often present specific prospective B2B customers (for companies with B2B customers).
Another core function of the Market section is to display how your company is positioned within the competitive landscape. Capital West Advisors performs both a macroscopic industry analysis that profiles the basic structure of the industry, market penetration by key industry players, respective strengths and weaknesses of the industry and a microscopic analysis of each of the companies that we perceive to be the direct competitors of the client company. Capital West Advisors provides a detailed description of every relevant direct competitor, including capabilities, target market, and overall business model. This data is then synthesized to develop a unique and comprehensive competitive strategy.
Products and services
The Products and Services Section is a meticulous description of every product and service that the business will offer that generates revenue or otherwise supports the business model. Each product and service that your company offers will be effectively promoted within the context of your company’s overall mission and competitive strategy. Additionally, Capital West Advisors will develop product and service rollout strategies with strategic goals and milestones to maximize sales efforts. In this section, we also discuss the pricing strategy, which can be a general description of the strategy or a specific pricing matrix. In this sub-section, we can also mention package pricing plans.
Marketing Plan
The Marketing Plan is an essential component of the Business Plan that describes the company’s overall marketing and sales strategy. Capital West Advisor will develop a comprehensive marketing strategy for your company to maximize the number of customers and obtain the highest possible returns on advertising. Typical marketing methods that Capital West Advisors implements include branding strategy, print advertising, radio advertising, television advertising, direct mail, public relations, promotional strategy, affiliate marketing, and Internet marketing. Capital West Advisors carefully develops the marketing and sales campaign in accordance with the overall branding & pricing strategies.
Operations Plan
The Operations Plan develops and organizes each of the key elements that comprise the company’s daily operations. Although every business is different to varying degrees, these elements typically include facility layout, inventory control, maintenance, distribution, manufacturing, sales & billing, accounting, marketing, legal, insurance, and equipment requirements.
Management and Staff
Often overlooked, the Management and Staff section is frequently an integral part of the business plan in terms of gaining investor interest and confidence in the opportunity. Capital West Advisors reviews each key member’s expertise to develop well-written personal biographies. For all management and staff positions that have not yet been filled, we will develop a detailed summary of responsibilities to maintain overall continuity.
Financial Plan
The Financial Plan and Corresponding Pro-Forma Financial Statements are crucial elements when negotiating with investors or applying for a commercial/SBA loan. CWA develops defensible financial assumptions to project the five-year Pro-forma Income Statement, Statement of Cash Flows, and the Balance Sheet.
It is very important that the financial statements have properly developed revenue, expense, and growth assumptions. Capital West Advisors develops these financial assumptions during the preliminary business plan along with preliminary revenue and expense projections. Once the client reviews the business plan, then we proceed to further develop the financial statements.
Capital West Advisors uses a monthly breakdown I Year 1, Quarterly in Year 3 and 4 and annually for year 5. Capital West Advisors has ultimate flexibility and will also, at times, develop both Year 1 and 2 on a monthly basis. Once the financial statements are complete, Capital West Advisors develops a comprehensive financial strategy that proposes capital requirements, stages of funding, and exit strategy.
Capital West Advisors’ methodology has been developed over years of experience. Also, the Managing Directors represent over 75 Years of collective business planning, consulting, and capital introduction experience. Please visit our website at www.capitalwestadvisors.com for more information.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Capital West Advisors, which services the entire United States with business plan writing, capital introduction, and strategic growth consulting services, has been headquartered in Los Angeles, CA and also maintains 1 Project Manager in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco for sophisticated business planning, capital introduction, and strategic growth consulting services. Capital West Advisors has now added a 5th location where clients can meet in person if they would
like to meet in person: Seattle, Washington
like to meet in person: Seattle, Washington
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Capital West Advisors discusses a possible buy low, sell high exit strategy
Even at the planning stage, the exit strategy is always a significant factor in molding the overal growth strategy of a company. Because most business owners do not understand how to read market indicators and forecasts, many people miss their chance to exit successfully. Why would a company want to exit? Many reasons including high risk of a product or service becoming obselete, high interest in the sector that creates a sales price premium, or attrition of crucial management. These are just a few relevant examples, but it is important to realize that many of the same strategy in buying stock in a company should be used in analyzing the exit strategy in a business. Buy low (startup phase, low cost of entry, low sweat equity investment) sell high (at a premium, people see that you make money, high interest in acquisition, market is about to turn for worst). During a recession could be a good time for buying a small business that has not been affected by the external economic indicators.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Capital West Advisors reveals the importance of highlighting a company’s management strengths, strategic partnerships, and existing relationships.
When an investor analyzes a business, two of the several key factors that he will typically assess are: (1) the strength and experience of the management team and (2) the existing relationships with customers, affiliate partners, and any outsourced providers that will play a key role in the operational and marketing process of the business.
An investor wants to know that the management has the necessary experience to grow and sustain the business; particularly with a start-up or early stage company. The business plan should contain a management section with a well presented biography for each key member of the executive management team. If the company is not very small, it is often beneficial to include an organizational chart to give a clear depiction of how operations will function from an organizational and hierarchy perspective.
One of the most important factors that an investor will evaluate is the strength of the company’s marketing channels. Along with a solid marketing plan, the business plan should emphasize and demonstrate any relationships that the company has with affiliate partners, distributors, manufacturing/operational partners, or co-marketers. The existence of strategic and affiliate partners in a company’s marketing plan can give the investor the extra confidence that the company will be able to grow effectively and smoothly. The business plan should discuss who the partners are, how they will benefit the company, and how these relationships will positively impact the growth of the company.
An investor wants to know that the management has the necessary experience to grow and sustain the business; particularly with a start-up or early stage company. The business plan should contain a management section with a well presented biography for each key member of the executive management team. If the company is not very small, it is often beneficial to include an organizational chart to give a clear depiction of how operations will function from an organizational and hierarchy perspective.
One of the most important factors that an investor will evaluate is the strength of the company’s marketing channels. Along with a solid marketing plan, the business plan should emphasize and demonstrate any relationships that the company has with affiliate partners, distributors, manufacturing/operational partners, or co-marketers. The existence of strategic and affiliate partners in a company’s marketing plan can give the investor the extra confidence that the company will be able to grow effectively and smoothly. The business plan should discuss who the partners are, how they will benefit the company, and how these relationships will positively impact the growth of the company.
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