How do I fast track my business plan to get in front of the right people and not held up by the Gatekeeper?

Dan has given you some excellent advice. On the low-level, purely mechanical front, send your pitch via some tracked service like FedEx or UPS, for two reasons.

1. Nobody is going to throw one away without opening it.

2. When a road-blocking gatekeeper rolls you to a stop, just say: "Could I speak with Stephanie, please? I'm following up on a FedEx she received yesterday."

If all you have is a business plan, that might be your issue. There's also other sites like Angel List www.angel.co that will let you setup a profile and try and get in front of investors .. but without a solid team, some kind of prototype, early customer interest, etc .. it's tough.

Just look at the companies who did get funded and see how well you stack against them. Compare their numbers, team, product, etc and see if you're as good? If not, investors will just put their money in others who are.

Only 1200 companies per year raise venture capital, and I would assume 100x that try, so you need to standout.

Alternatively, you can try raising money from friends & family, future customers (crowdfunding, or pre-sales), etc.

Hope that helps.

I would say that the key point is to contact your right people personally or by phone and attract their attention to your project within the first 30 seconds. And in the second step you can send them your business plan. According to my experience it is the best way.

Why not connect with investors right here on Clarity? Search on the term "VC" and you'll be presented with an assortment of experts, including VCs and angels. Do your homework, pick a few that are similar to the type of investor you are looking for, and request a call.

Most importantly, ASK FOR THEIR ADVICE, don't try to simply pitch your venture to them. If you are sincerely looking for help, most VCs will give you an honest assessment as to your situation and provide a recommendation on how to get in front of the right investor(s).

I can't think of an easier, quicker, less expensive way of getting the answer you are looking for. Good luck!