The first step to deciding whether you are ‘investment ready’ is to ascertain whether your business is a good idea combined with a great execution plan. Many people focus on the idea without considering whether or not they can actually deliver a business proposition that is commercially viable.
At Angels Den we believe that anyone with a good scalable business should be able to pitch to investors but we don't want to waste their time or yours if you are not ready yet. The best thing to do is contact your Regional Manager to have an initial conversation about your situation.
Here is a checklist of the basics of setting up a company:
1. Becoming a Registered Company
In order to issue shares to the Angel in return for their money you will need to form a Registered Company, such as Ltd or PTE. This is easily done online in most countries and can take as little as 20 minutes to complete.
2. Securing a Domain Name
This is very important and could determine the name of your business going forward. Ideally you want to secure the .com site and your country domain. If you can't get the domain you should seriously consider renaming the trading company or someone else could end up with your website traffic.
3. Set up a Business Bank Account
This must be in the name of the Registered Company, and due to Money Laundering regulations is nothing like as straightforward as setting up a personal account so don't leave it until the Angel is waiting to transfer his money.
4. Secure your Trademark
It is very important to ensure you are covered by a Trademark Application in your main trading country(s) so that no one else can use your company name.
5. A Financial Forecast
In order negotiate a fair deal for both you and the Angel it is very important to have robust financial forecasts and a proper valuation of your company. Get an accountant to help if you are struggling.
6. A Business Plan
Execution and planning are key to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Sometimes the thought of writing a business plan is more daunting than actually doing it but we highly recommend that you write this yourself in no more than a day or two. Unlike a business plan for a bank, this one should be short and concise as the majority of Angels are busy people and will skim read it at most, but they need to know you have thought it through and it really does show if you haven’t written it yourself. This round of investment will be based on implementing this plan.
As part of your Angels Den package, your Regional Manager will review your plan, identify any gaps and help you get it right before you pitch. Read tips on how to write a sound business plan.
7. A Shareholder Agreement
It is advisable for you to provide a fair Shareholder Agreement rather than use one the Angel provides which is likely to be highly stacked in their favour as it has been written by their lawyer. Also it's much better to do one with the Angel rather than with 2 separate lawyers, both trying to earn fees by finding faults. Angels Den has secured an exclusive arrangement with Edwards Wildman, an international law firm, to provide seed funding ‘standard’ investment documentation free of charge for any companies that are members of the Angels Den network and who receive an investment from our Angel investors in the UK.