What Investors Look For

So, What are investors looking for? Unfortunately there is no generic answer for this. The obvious response is "a return on their investment" but that's just an outcome - it's not what helps you determine how to pitch your Online Business School today.

Each person investing has their own criteria, but across the board, there are certainly trends in evaluating new companies that investors share.

By understanding what investors react to individually, you can be better prepared to position your deal to be more attractive. You can also begin to understand why they may not be reacting the way you would expect them to.

Location, Industry and Stage

The easiest way to see how you're a fit for a potential investor is to align with the type of investments they typically make.

Are you starting a Online Business School? Great, but you don't want to reach out to a private equity company that only invests in communications companies with over $50 million in revenue. It's up to you to do your homework and find the partners that actually make sense for your Online Business School.

>As you do your research, look for investors that are near you geographically, have a history of investing in deals within your industry, and typically invest at the stage of your company's evolution that you're currently in.

The more aligned you are with these areas of interest the more likely you will find an interest from investors that are looking for your type of deal.

Market Size

What varies based on the type of investor or size of the fund. A $50 million venture capital fund that needs to generate large returns can't spend time on a $25,000 investment in a book store.

The book store may be wildly successful, but in order to move the meter on the $50 million of capital they have to invest, the investor needs a much larger outcome than a single book store can provide. This is where market size is a big deal.

Everything being equal, targeting a large market is the best way to get investors interested. The idea is simple - investors passing on an investment that may be worth a million dollars some day is acceptable. But passing on an investment that may be worth a billion dollars some day is a huge loss. When it comes to potential markets to address - size matters.

Competitive Position

Where you are in the market, relative to new or existing competitors, will definitely be looked at hard by investors. Investors want to know that you have some sort of sustainable, unfair advantage that others cannot easily overcome.

Maybe you have unique relationships in your community that allows you to cut deals with partners that no one else can compete with. Or maybe you've got a unique marketing strategy that can secure your position as the market leader for years to come.

The goal isn't to prove that no one else will ever compete with you. It's to prove that when they do, they will be crushed by you every time.

Look for some key leverage points in your Online Business School model that can convince investors that you can build a sustainable competitive advantage and harp on those virtues.

Social Proof

People talking about you on social media channels is something we're all aware of but it's rarely outlined in a business plan or presentation. Simply put, Social Proof is clear evidence that others believe in your Online Business School as much as you do and will testify to the merits of your ideas.

There are lots of ways to establish Social Proof with your Online Business School. One way would be to assemble a team of Advisors that are well-respected in your field that have spent time with you and your vision and will attest to its greatness.

Another way is to generate some early activity with pilot customers who will provide testimonials that your Online Business School not only makes sense, but if it existed today, they would attend it.

Investors see thousands of business pitches, so they often defer quickly to Social Proof to help them determine whether other smart, respected people have spent the time and attention with your Online Business School that would, in turn, warrant the investors' attention.

Traction

Demonstrating traction in your Online Business School is also a great way to get investors interested. Investors hear many entrepreneurs talk about their ideas, but very few actually see them through.

Signing up early customers, hiring key talent, or actually building your Online Business School by bootstrapping resources are all positive signs that an entrepreneur is scrappy enough to make things work even without substantial capital.

Every bit of traction matters in a startup pitch, so don't be afraid to tout it in your pitch. Investors will be thinking that if you can do this much with a small bit of capital (or none!), then imagine how effective you could be with their money.

Summary

When you really review what you just read, what investors are looking for is pretty apparent. They aren't looking for magical power point presentations or get rich quick ideas. They want big opportunities led by credible entrepreneurs.

Ultimately investors are people just like anyone else. They make lots of decisions based on what they believe will be successful. They are going with their intuition as much as you are. So give them something to get excited about.