How to present your business idea so investors answer

An investor reads many ideas in one day. Most of them are closed after a few seconds. Often the idea is not bad: the post simply does not say clearly what it is about. Here are seven things to write so that your post gets an answer.

1. Start with the problem

Say in one or two sentences who has the problem and what it costs them in money or time. If the reader does not feel the problem, the solution will not interest them.

2. Say what you offer

Describe your product or service in simple words, the way you would explain it to a friend. Leave out technical terms and slogans. One clear sentence is stronger than a long paragraph.

3. Show where you are today

Is it only an idea? Is there a first version? Do you already have customers? Be honest. An investor accepts an early project, but not a surprise later.

4. Give the numbers you have

• How much money you need.
• What you will do with it, in three or four lines.
• How long it will take before the project earns money.

If you do not know a number yet, say so. A guessed number that looks exact does more harm than an honest "not yet known".

5. Say what you are looking for

Money only? A partner who works with you? An expert for one part of the project? The clearer the request, the better the answers you will receive.

6. Add clear pictures

A photo of the product, a screen of the application or a simple drawing helps more than a page of text. Use your own pictures, bright and sharp.

7. Keep it short and true

A good post can be read in one minute. Keep the details for the conversation that follows. Write only what you can prove when someone asks.

A short example

Small restaurants in our city lose customers because they have no online ordering. We built a simple ordering page that a restaurant can start using in one day. Five restaurants are testing it now. We are looking for USD 40,000 and a partner with sales experience to reach 200 restaurants in 18 months.

This example is invented, but it shows the idea: problem, offer, where the project stands, the amount and what is needed, in five sentences.

Ready? Add your post on Sharksme and let investors and partners find you.