Great ideas don’t get funded by themselves

Many entrepreneurs have brilliant ideas that could turn into Fortune 500 companies. They deserve the opportunity to prove themselves. Unfortunately, most of them are never given that chance.

Investors are usually fairly conservative with their money. They hear many business ideas and have to filter some of them out. Remember the quote from Gordon Gekko on Wall St? ""I hear a hundred tips a day and I choose one."

Unfortunately, the metrics you use to determine if an idea is brilliant or not are probably completely different than those an investor would use. Here are some things you may need to work on to improve the odds of getting funding.

Don't focus only on technology

Even if you are lucky to find an investor who used to be an engineer, they still aren't likely to be looking at the technology you are presenting to them. At least, that isn't their primary focus.

Move away from the mentality that you should be focusing on the technology behind your design. Instead, summarize your product and them emphasize your business model. You can read more in the article Top 5 Things That Make You Appealing to an Investor.

Show your own qualifications and entrepreneurial experience

Investors are really looking to invest in people more than ideas. Even if you present an idea that sounds strange to them, if you can show that you know what you are doing you have a good chance of being funded.

If you have a lot of experience in the field, that will go a long way to getting credibility. If you have started a number of businesses before, then you clearly know how to be realistic and get your business off the ground.

Similarly, show that the other members of your team are qualified to work with you on the project. Some investors will actually like to see a resume for each group member.

Show that you know who your target market is

Many entrepreneurs think that if they offer a great service, people are going to just show up to buy it. Investors know that more failures are attributed to entrepreneurs marketing to the wrong customers than they are to problems with the product itself.

Hopefully, you have already taken your customers into account and established your target market. In that case, make sure you emphasize that to investors so they know you know what you're doing.

Represent yourself more than your business

Investors want to know that you are capable of bringing your idea to life and making it successful. Lot's of people have great ideas, but only a few can actually make them work. Make sure that investors see you as the exception.