Project teams are not always able to properly introduce their projects. It’s not because they are hopeless, they seem to simply lack the sufficient understanding of some of the basic principles we encounter in every day life. Here are some of them:
– Sometimes the inventor, developer or entrepreneur believes their project is so brilliant and great that they don’t take into account the current market situation, ways of monetization and all the other factors crucial to the implementation of the project.
In fact, you should not forget whom you are presenting your project to. In many cases the project entry doesn’t contain the basic required investment amount, or the sum is specified but the particular purpose is not clarified well. After all, these are not technical experts or marketers who devote their funds, but the investors who are often quite limited of the scope of knowledge. The investors often need a short and clear proposal, as they often don’t have the time to analyze your market and delve into the details. This portion must fall upon the project team’s shoulders.
– “My project’s success should be evident to everybody. Thus, a thorough calculation of the economy and market makes no sense”, – the project author assumes.
It’s actually worth seeking similar projects and analyzing the competitiveness of your own development. If no analogues exist, it’s essential to evaluate the performance of the proposed product or service in comparison with the needs of other potential clients. Next, you can try to predict the price of a product or service, its potential demand and to calculate the project’s economic indices.
– What startups usually think is, “Some specific economic indicators are required to raise funds. To obtain them, it’s necessary to have the “such-and-such revenue” on an annual basis. To get it, a certain amount of sales is required. We’ll win the certain market share with this volume of sales. Does it ring a bell? Basically, does it seem possible? Business plan is done!”
Practically, investor will definitely ask, “Why is it exactly this way?” and will unlikely be happy with the absence of a clear reply based on the facts.
– The project author tries to convince the investor: “We are unique in the market and there are no analogues. Our technology embraces functions that are not presented within our competitors’ projects, and won’t be implemented in foreseeable future.”
This actually can be the following way: if there are no analogues, it is worth considering whether someone elsewhere can possibly be carrying out similar projects at the moment. Will there be objective preconditions for this? At what stage can there be an alternative project? If there are indeed no analogues, it is worth taking time to reflect on what will happen after your product or service enters the market. Will someone try to copy it? How soon? How will they compete?
– There is a wide belief that in some cases one can be successful copying a foreign product or service.
As a matter of fact, it makes sense only if your region is out of interests for owners of that copied product or service, or success is measured by who will become the first to conquer territory.
– Unprotected intellectual property is another complex issue.
If the project’s authors present the expected result, but refuse to explain how they intend to achieve it, they won’t obtain the desired investment.
A few tips on how to get off the hook:
- Protect intellectual property first;
- Sign a non-disclosure agreement with the investor first (but for this, the investor should already have an interest in your project);
- Trust the investor and unveil the methods and expertise at least partially.
