Grants are publicly funded schemes. They provide cash awards, free equipment, tools, or reduced costs for providing vital resources to entrepreneurs and small business owners. The cash awards range depends on the scheme and can be from hundreds of dollars to hundreds of thousands.
What is a financial model? A financial model is a tool which is built to forecast a business financial performance into the future. The forecast is based on the company’s historical performance and assumptions about the future. An income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement and supporting schedules known as the 3 statement model is…
A sales plan is a critical tool which helps set goals and identify where and how work should be done to generate revenue. It is a strategy that helps identify the potential customers, establish goals, and to lay out sales and marketing tactics needed to meet the goal. Sales goal of a company defines what they are trying to achieve and what their focal point of the business is on. Individual goals for salespeople are established based on their skills, knowledge, and abilities. In the sales plan, the potential avenues of contact should be identified such as media advertisement, classified listing, or direct mail.
The first round of funding is known as the Series A. During this round, the startup business receives funds from a venture capital firm. It is important at this stage that a plan on the development of the business model is made so long-term profit can be generated. At this stage, the investors look for companies that have great ideas and have a strong strategy to turn that idea into a successful, money-making business.
Startups failing is not a new phenomenon. Numerous studies have been the subject of how and why startups fail. Most studies indicate, that the number one reason for startup failure is: there was no need for the product or service. Making a better product that no one needs is a sure shot way to kill a startup. Interestingly enough, 3 out of the top 5 reasons have to do with financial aspects: running out of money, the competition was quicker or more efficient, and pricing and cost issues.
Stages of a Startup: The pre-seed stage is the initial funding or as we like to call it the genesis fund. In this stage, the goal is to take an idea or concept and turn it into a tangible business. At this stage, the business is not expected to have a market-ready product or service. Startups will usually opt to secure pre-seed funding by presenting a pitch deck.
Seed funding is one of the initial stages of funding required to get a business started. It is important for the entrepreneurs to plan for finances as soon as they have decided to start a new venture because expenses are incurred from the very beginning, even before the company becomes operational. Seed funding can come from business owners, friends, and family to support preliminary activities such as market research, business plan development, product research, and development.
pitch deck is sent more often than a business plan it can be said that a pitch deck is more important. However, a pitch deck is usually created after the business plan is made. The business plan works as the foundation for the pitch deck and therefore both of them are equally important.
Parts of a Pitch Deck: A great pitch deck leads potential investors to get excited about the idea and engages them in a conversation regarding the business, hopefully leading to an investment. The pitch deck and the pitch are the first things that an investor sees in order to determine the viability of a business…
The main goal of the pitch deck is to raise funds for the startup. It is a brief presentation that gives an overview of the business to potential investors. A pitch deck is used for face-to-face and online meetings with potential investors, customers, and partners. It is a representative tool for the external audience that displays the business model and structure.