Impress the investors: Prepare Yourself well when looking for PE investment

Private equity funds also known as PE funds are floated by HNIs, LLP, or by a group of individuals.PE Funds invest in companies by purchasing or acquiring controlling rights in private or publicly traded companies through equity buying. PE Funding can give a business the resources it needs to expand and run the business smoothly.

Getting funding from PE investors is a Herculean task and requires a lot of homework before one goes to pitch one’s idea to the prospective investors.

Following are some steps that need to be considered before going to pitch to the investors:

Strong and Smart Preparation (SSP):

Since you are planning to sell your business, you have to prepare yourself mentally as well as emotionally. A dream story needs to be built before you starting pitching.

Robust business and financial plan:

You have to prepare a comprehensive as well as a one-page teaser of your business plan along with financial projections and forecasts. “You should have financials that tell a beautiful and impressive story”.

You have to work out your plan to know ‘Why’, ‘How Much’ money will be required, and ‘What’ the end use of money will be.

Management and Team Profile:

You are required to prepare a profile of the people who are the founders and the masterminds behind the business to give confidence to your prospective investor. You need to have a profile of all Top class capable management teams with a proven record in the past for the best results given by them. This again gives confidence to the investors that their money is in safe hands.

Company overview, Vision, Mission and Strategy:

A well-defined vision and overview of the organization always gets an upper hand over an undefined one. Therefore, you need to carefully jot down what you think, what you perceive, what you want to be in the future, what is the goal of your business, etc. and then prepare an apt strategy keeping in mind all the above aspects of your business.

Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threats (SWOT) analysis:

You need to have in place a well thoughtful (SWOT) analysis of your business, industry, sector, etc. You are required to do a comprehensive Competitor’s analysis.

Know your investor (KYI) and Get signed NDA:

Before pitching and sharing secrets of one’s business, one should always do thorough research of the background of the investor. In some cases, the investor might have had invested in a similar business earlier. Therefore, it is very important to get a nondisclosure agreement signed by the investor before you start pitching your ideas.

Value Proposition:

‘Why an investor should be interested to invest in your business’, ‘where is your market’, ‘who are your customers’ and ‘how are you different from your competitors’, these are some questions which you need to plan and prepare an elevator pitch for. Your summary should be backed by comprehensive plans.

Exit route:

Investors would like to exit after a certain period of time of investment in the business i.e. maybe after 3 to 5 years. You should be ready with your exit options or exit strategy like buyback plan at the agreed terms and valuation, or through the IPO route.

Feedback and follow up:

Last but not least do not forget to thank the investors for giving their precious time and request feedback on the meeting. Make sure to follow up after some time.

Good Luck, Cheers.

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This Article is written by CA Madhav Agarwal, B.COM., LL.B., ACA, DISA, MBF. You may reach him at contact@philosophersstone.in