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Ten Things That Can Make or Break a Deal

Why do only a small fraction of the business plans that are sent to venture capitalists get funded? Most would simply answer that there are too many deals chasing too few investment dollars. Venture capitalists will tell you, that the real reason is, that there are not enough "quality" deals.

The entrepreneur and venture capitalist often view the "quality" of a deal very differently. The inexperienced entrepreneur often makes the mistake of not realizing that the venture capitalist will judge the "quality" of his or her deal, relative to other deals that the venture
firm is considering. So the entrepreneur must be cognizant of the fact, that raising money is not simply an exercise in selling yourself, and your deal to win a scarce amount of venture capital. Rather, it is truly a competition against other startups to win the most "mind-share" of the venture capital investor. Entrepreneurs who are the most successful at raising venture capital financing understand this fundamental point and strategically market their deals based on this knowledge.