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(Continued from Lyles Center link) ....In a master class setting for serious entrepreneurs only, he reveals the practical secrets of successful partnering between entrepreneurs and their professional investors. Says Bill: “Raising capital is a skill that can be learned. Unfortunately, this skill is not directly related to the inherent strength of the general business operation. Business leaders who do not commit to mastering the fundamental discipline of how to raise capital will see their businesses fail or will find that their growth potential is permanently stunted".
About the Class: Raising capital for early stage businesses has recently become more difficult, by several orders of magnitude, owing to the rapid down-sizing and restructuring of capital markets around the world. This course is a three-day master class offering for those who intend to pursue capital raising for their own idea or business, whether in seed, venture, private equity, strategic, or debt financing. It is appropriate for students who are, or aspire to be, CEO’s or CFO's of entrepreneurial ventures, or founders of successful new businesses. The course explores in-depth case studies of first-hand early capital raising successes in several start-ups that are now public companies, and organizes the overall process into practical building blocks of learnable skills.
Prerequisites for the Class: An application fee is due with your application. Applications that are not accompanied by the application fee will not be considered. Applicants not accepted for the Fresno workshop series will receive a full refund of the application fee.
IN ODER TO APPLY CLICK HERE: http://www.box.net/sixsecretsapplication
Curriculum Outline:
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Day One: |
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Create a compelling business story: indentifying critical business presentation elements and learning their persuasive construction and assembly |
Everyone knows that investors are attracted to a compelling business story. But what are the necessary ingredients to a successful business story, and how are those ingredients positioned in order to maximize their persuasiveness? Participants will examine the step-by-step build-up of a professional business presentation, understanding the rationale for each component and its strategic placement within the overall story. Unique case studies of presentations used by start-ups that subsequently became public companies will provide a back-drop for students to work in teams practicing business story construction on live business ideas. |
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Organize high impact story materials: an in-depth study of the essential portfolio of business presentation formats and their respective uses |
Students will learn the appropriate formats for the full variety of business presentation opportunities, from casual encounters with an investor to formal board-room discussions to effective follow-up with interested parties. Building on the business story segment, teams will practice creating their own formats, for each respective encounter, using their class created material. Live rehearsal and presentation by each team will focus on honing essential presentation tactics. |
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Day Two: |
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Pin-point your ideal investor: understanding the broad universe of private company investors, and recognizing the characteristics of the most suitable investor class for your business |
The class will examine the distinct categories of early stage investors, their motivations, appetites, investing behavior, and market-driven characteristics. Working with both case studies of successful start-up financings, and classroom originated business ideas, students will be exposed to proven techniques for matching business ideas to the specific pools of capital that are already predisposed to invest in those ideas.
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Develop profitable investor relationships: a craftsman-like approach to placing the early building blocks of long-term business partnerships
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How do you begin and then grow a profitable long-term relationship with an investor? What are the words that trigger that first level of interest, what is the forum for that initial conversation, and how does one build, step by step, from a spark of interest to a completed multi-million dollar investment and, beyond, to a lasting partnership? Participants will work in teams through a spectrum of relationship building scenarios, learning the most efficient means of responding to the critical day-to-day challenges of professional investor relations.
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Day Three: |
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Manage the volatile dynamics of an investment negotiation: creating a successful environment for healthy, professional bargaining |
Only a small fraction of entrepreneurs ever experience a significant investment negotiation, much less a successful one. Finding that your investors have soured on you as a leader, during the negotiation, over some perceived slight, or worse, that the investment terms you have agreed to effectively give control of your business future to your investor—these are not successful negotiations. Students will learn how to create a framework that positions the respective parties for a successful outcome, and how to manage the varied expectations of all parties during the process. |
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Micro-manage the closing process: critical players in closing your transaction, and effective strategies for winning the war of minutiae until the deal is done. |
So close and yet so far: you will have raised capital for your business when the cash is in your business checking account. Document production, signing authorities, certified financials, escrow accounts--a bewildering array of details stand between you and your successful capital raise. Students will learn the principal dangers that exist between the deal being agreed and the transaction’s actual closing, and specific management techniques that can prevent tiny missteps from spoiling the party. IN ODER TO APPLY CLICK HERE: http://www.box.net/sixsecretsapplication
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