I run a early stage revenue earning SaaS business. I want an expert to help value the business, help with the business plan and financial modeling and advise on fund raising strategy.
Hi, you need someone that has done investment before. An investor is better than a startup founder that has raised capital. An investor looks daily at a startup pitch and knows exactly what are the key elements that a pitch need to be interesting. Fundraising is a full-time job and a lot of startup waste time and resources trying to fundraise when they can't (the basic metrics are not there). So step number one is to check if you have the essential elements to start the conversation with a potential investor. Then you need to start working on all the investment material. When you have all the investment material in place, you can begin connecting with investors.
Hi
Seeing how no expert can honestly tell you how much of a fit they are without hearing more details (many of us have experience in all the aspects you’ve mentioned), the best option for you would be to have 2-3 (free) assessment calls with advisors here on clarity and then decide which one suits your needs best.
I have successfully helped over 300 entrepreneurs and would be happy to try and help you as well. The way I work is as follows:
1. I’ll ask you a few questions by email to better understand your business and your needs.
2. Then we’ll schedule a Free 20min call to go over the information at the end of which I’ll give you my initial/brief assessment.
3. If you find my assessment of value to you, we’ll schedule another ‘work-call’ to make some actual decisions.
The above includes analyzing the business, the business model and fundraising options.
Take a look at my reviews :-)
Good luck
You need a lawyer and financial adviser for a successful business plan as well as the regulatory policies to guide your business growth.
You can extend a call, for further clarifications.
Hi, I have assisted young companies for more than twenty years. Valuation, Company Narrative and Financials can be prepared with experience and professionalism by quite a few solid firms.
However, at very early revenue I am not certain paying for a valuation, etc. is worth the money at this time.
It's likely your young company hasn't made enough money or had nearly enough customers to prove demand for your service [proof of concept].
You would be wise to continue to build your customer base and revenue in order to have a shot at convincing investors to invest.
if fact you need to be specific of what you want to enable expert starts to advice you
Good question. My advice is to talk to several potential advisors, glean learnings from each conversation, see if you can build rapport, and then decide on who you think you can work with. Having said that, I'd be happy to chat with you about my approach.
As a CEO Business Partner, I've helped many start-up CEOs build their financial models as a way to inform their strategies and to value their companies. I come from an experienced start-up, hands-on CEO perspective. When I engage in this type of project I make sure that there are concrete deliverables. Mentoring inevitably becomes a by-product.
Please set-up a quick call if you'd like to learn more.
Answers so far sound pretty accurate. As a securities attorney that's advised hundreds of startups, here are my tips:
First, connect with other successful, more advanced founders. They can advise you on the mistakes they made at your stage and make referrals.
Second, don't focus on engaging experts before you've validated that investors care about a better plan, financial model, or valuation. If you've got something valuable, prospective investors will tell you as you start the early conversation.
Finally, engage an attorney to ensure that you're not violating securities laws. A few hundred dollars for an in-depth conversation might save you hundreds of thousands later.
Why do you need like you need an expert to advise you on financial modeling and your business plan. Those are yours and you need to own them. If you need help with fundraising, that’s then an entirely separate topic and validly so, if you’ve never raised capital you might not know where to start. Your valuation on the other hand is again a totally separate matter. That depends on a) your market b) growth rate c) team d) current revenue e) geography. An a-list team with relevant experience in the Valley van raise pre-revenue or even product at a 10-15m pre-money whereas the same team in Berlin or Stockholm can only raise at a 2m pre-money.
