Social Finance Q&A

1. To which extent have you identified suitable investors whose investment criteria are met by your enterprise?

We have some ideas about general criteria such as investors' preferred regions and sectors, but need to do thorough research. Partially, we have identified some investors that may be suitable, but don't have a complete investor longlist yet. Not at all. We're only starting to understand the investor market. We have prepared a complete longlist of suitable investors with all important details about their preferences and restrictions. To a large extent, we have many potential investors on our longlist, but need to make additional inquiries within our network to substantiate it.

2. Are you familiar with the information that these investors need to initially assess your enterprise??

We have a vague idea and currently working on drafting something to send to them. Mostly. We checked the requirements on their websites and already prepared an executive summary. No, we will simply shower them with all the material we have. Absolutely. We thoroughly checked all publicly available information about these investors, called some of our sources for additional soft facts and are fully prepared to send the relevant documents to each one of these investors. Yes, we are well prepared with a full set of information material, from executive summary and business plan to pitch deck and financial forecast with different scenarios. .

3. Are you prepared to approach these investors?

Not yet, but we have made some sketches how to best approach the investors on our longlist. Partially. I asked some of my fellow enterpreneurs for tips and prepared a short email text that is supposed to create interest. No, I'm a great talker so I will simply call them. Absolutely, we made a plan for an individualized investor approach, including personal introductions that our network can make for us. Sure, we discussed the right approach in the team, went through each investor name on our longlist and integrated recommendations from our network.

1. Have you clearly defined the unique selling proposition of your enterprise?

We have a great product/service that speaks for itself. No, I never heard of this. Almost, we clearly compared our offering against existing solutions and currently define how we will exactly position ourselves vis-a-vis investors. We discussed this in the team and tried to refine our position. Completely. We sharpened our USPs and are ready to substantiate our claims with facts and data.

2. Did you work on telling the story of your enterprise in a compelling way?

Absolutely. The storyline is ready to go and we received great feedback from our test audience. No, but I'm sure my enthusiasm will hit the right tone. Almost. We prepared a good storyline within the team and will now make a dry run with friends and mentors to test and refine it. Not yet, I'm only starting to research how to do it best. Somewhat. I made a draft and will discuss it with my team.

3. Have you practiced pitching in front of potential investors?

Sure, me and my team members have already pitched on several events in front of investors. We will now finetune the presentation for approaching our pre-selected investors. We have started to prepare ideas for a great pitch within our team. Not yet, but I'm a great presenter so I will pull it off on the spot. Absolutely, we're already professional in this, having had several investor pitches and Q & A sessions that brought us great feedback. Yes, me and my colleagues involved in the management presentation trained our pitch internally and externally and it works fine.

4. Are you ready to answer critical questions from potential investors?

Not, I'm just going to pitch and that's it. Yes, we are well prepared for critical questions from potential investors but want to get some additional intel from mentors, friends and peers. We have started to compile a list of questions that we expect to come. Yes, me and my colleagues discussed how to answer these questions and who of us will take each of them in the management presentation. Absolutely, we have successfully done this before. We also know how to manage the dynamics between investors during the management presentation so to ensure constructive and fruitful discussions.

1. Are you familiar with the typical investor due diligence process?

I don't have the slightest idea. What is this? We gathered some information and are preparing ourselves for this important phase. I heard stories from my network, but we're just starting to learn more about it. Yes, we are fully informed about the typical due diligence steps and also received tips and lessons learnt from external sources such as entrepreneurs, investors and mentors. Yes, we shared and discussed the main due diligence items and insights in our team.

2. To which extent did you organize your team for an efficient due diligence process?

It's basically me who is in charge and I am aware that our resources may not be sufficient to answer all investor issues as quickly as necessary. Not at all, but I'm sure we'll manage. We are perfectly organized and additionally secured advice and support from external experts. We defined our core team in charge for this process as well as the necessary resources we will need. The necessary team, resources and project management capacities are firmly in place and aligned.

3. Which due diligence materials have you prepared?

Nothing yet. We made a list of materials and started to prepare them. We are currently discussing this in our team. We are fully prepared with due diligence questionnaire as well as backup material, scenarios and forecasts, and can reply quickly and professionally to any additional investor requests. We drafted an extensive due diligence questionnaire up-front that will address all major investor questions and asks.

1. Are you clear about what you want from your future investor(s)?

I discussed this with my team and we are aware of certain value adds that we seek from our future investors. We know all the relevant criteria that will ensure that we select the right investors for us. Why? I just need the money and that's it. Yes, we already prepared a shortlist of our favorite investors according to the information and impressions that we gathered during the outreach and due diligence phase. It's basically a matter of chemistry and I'm sure we'll find out once the investment contract is signed.

2. Are you aware of the consequences of different financing instruments for your enterprise?

Somewhat. I know about the main effects for my enterprise's prospects, mission and future growth path. Yes, we discussed this internally and are familiar with the features of different financing instruments and sources, including their long-term pros and cons. No, I have no clue. Yes, this is why we have defined clear preferences for certain financing instruments and sources that are summarized in a specific financing model and structure that we target. Completely. We made a very educated decision and are already discussing this issue with our favorite potential investors.

3. Have you considered using innovative financing models to potentially better suppot your enterprise's growth and scaling?

We are aware that such models exist and are collecting information about them. We thought a lot about such models and are currently comparing them with traditional financing instruments. Partially; we had discussions about these models, but don't know yet whether they are suitable for us. We finished our analysis and made a very educated decision about the right financing structures for us and who of our investors could provide these. Not at all, never heard of this.

1. Have you prepared yourself for negotiations on the main terms and conditions of your future financing?

No, not really. We're getting there. We have made a list of our needs and expectations, based on standard term sheets the specific financing instrument(s) we seek. We started to prepare ourselves and collected information internally as well as from our network. Yes, we're fully prepared. We also secured legal advice to understand and professionally answer all typical negotiation points reagrding financing terms and conditions. This is not our focus right now. We're waiting until the investors come up with it.

2. Are you familiar with the relevant features of typical financing contracts for the kind of investment you seek?

Not yet. We prepared a contract proposal ourselves, are discussing it with selected investors and received good feedback so far. We have an idea, but without details or facts yet. We have sought legal advice and are well prepared. We have a draft that we are internally discussing and reviewing right now.

3. Did you define clear cut-off criteria for your negotiations with investors and are you ready to go with it if necessary?

We're in the process of doing so. We are discussing these issues internally and already thought about alternatives if negotiations might fail. No, but I'm sure it will all go smoothly. Yes, absolutely. In addition, we have made sure that there are enough cash reserves to go for alternative paths if negotiations were to fail. Yes, we know where we have to say no in order to avoid compromising on our vision, mission and scaling plans.

Investor Approach