If you could not make it to the first day of the event, you can view Dan’s presentation here:

This Bucharest event comes to sustain the national tour organized by Lions Arena and S4S Romania held in February 2012, aiming to select the best business projects for the new season of the TV show.  “The lions” met with entrepreneurs from 8 cities (Timișoara, Cluj, Târgu Mureș, Constanța, Iași, Craiova, Brașov and Sibiu), and the ones who are interested can watch an open lesson on how a business idea should be presented to an investor.

The five successful entrepreneurs and Lions Arena jury members, Cristina Bâtlan – Creative Director and owner Musette, Marius Ghenea – president Fit Distribution, Dragoș Anastasiu – president Tui-Eurolines, Florin Talpeș – CEO BitDefender and Mircea Tudor – president MBTelecom will engage in a discussion with the participants regarding the experience that they will accumulate during their participation at this show, as well as sharing useful pieces of advice about the steps that an entrepreneur should follow in order to build a successful business. Also, participants will learn from Péter Barta – executive director at Post-Privatization Foundation, company which endorses School for Startups Romania, how to write an effective business plan for obtaining a venture capital investment.

Please register for the meeting here : www.turneuarenaleilor.ro

See you there on Monday!

First you must prioritize from the very beginning the process of identifying the audience whom you are adressing to. This important decision will establish the guidelines of your business plan. Every investment type has its own pros and cons, depending on the desired timeframe for obtaining the investment, on whether you want to give up a certain amount of management control or on how much risk you are willing to take.

If you are writing a business plan for obtaining a venture capital investment make sure that it contains concise, well-articulated information that proves you have a very good know-how of the market. The plan should also include a realistic return of investment and accentuate the competitive advantages of your business.

Steps to follow:

Be informed and collect information wisely
Once you have decided what type of plan your business needs, you have to inform about the market and even try to collect client’s testimonials in order to present a more accurate information.

Analysis
Once you have collected and organised the information, you then must analyse everything. You should build a competitive profile that also includes potential risks and try to point out some solving strategies briefly.

Financial issues
Once you have identified which indicators best match your business, you may begin to draw a financial planning. It is a known fact that, in order to achieve best results, you should counsel with an accountant. Try to be reasonable in making optimistic projections about the future because investors can hold back and become suspicious if they hear unrealistic numbers.

Formulate a three to five-year budget outlining your income and expenditure forecasts in granular detail. This should also cover cashflow based on you receiving investment too, so an investor can clearly see when you break even, or run out of cash. Be realistic with it and attach this to the business plan.

Executive summary
It is crucial to complete this first section at the end, after you have gathered all the information. This is typically one or two pages which start with your elevator statement and highlight every facet of the business.Try to cover some of these points: business purpose, market opportunity, key business drivers and milestones, revenue, and P&L.

Check and review your plan

Keep in mind that you have only one shot to impress the investors. A well-written business plan, that has been thoroughly revised, not only increases your chances of obtaining a venture capital but also makes a good impression regarding your business. Don’t forget to ask for a second opinion and always DOUBLE CHECK.

Exit
Finish on how you think you’ll get a return on investment for investors, when it’s likely to happen and what it looks like (in terms of return) when you do. Remember that investors usually expect a return of investment with a multiple of at least 10 times what they commit. Show them how they can achieve this.

Is this the formula to a winning business plan? That depends on you. No matter how great your plan is, investors consider people and future plans. A solid, defensible business plan should be used as your guidance manual and point of reference when executing the strategy.

This is a great infograph which debates exactly this hot subject. In the long run, which are you: a geek or a hipster?

From: Become Career

VentureConnect, project which aims at facilitating the direct contact between investors and entrepreneurs in the IT / Technology / On-line, announces the launch of the VentureConnect Foundation. The Foundation is endorsed by the founding members VentureConnect project: Ana Maria Andronic, Daniel Visoiu, Marius Ghenea, Radu Georgescu, Orlando Nicoara, Péter Barta and Dragos Roua, their role being to ensure the development and function of all activities initiated under the VentureConnect brand, also making sure that direct opportunities and benefits are available for all entrepreneurs present in the VentureConnect programs.

The launch of the VentureConnect Foundation is an extension to work already done around VentureConnect events in order to ensure continuity in the direct interaction of entrepreneurs with investors. The foundation will provide entrepreneurs with a series of programs and resources they need to launch and develop their business at an international level.

“The role of the VentureConnect Foundation is to facilitate education and growth projects for the Romanian and Eastern-European business environment. We want the VentureConnect Foundation to maintain the permanent connections generated by the VentureConnect events to date; so that appropriate amounts of funding can be accessed far more easily and entrepreneurs can become more familiar with the requirements and expectations of potential investors. And in order to fulfill this role, in the near future we will launch a series of monthly activities (Venture Mentoring) in order to answer entrepreneurs’ inquiries on how to start a business and raise its potential, and a dedicated digital project aiming at forming a cohesive community of business angels, “said Ana Maria Andronic, Senior Associate Biris Goran and founding member of the VentureConnect Foundation.

“Establishing the Foundation is a natural step for the VentureConnect project, as the initiative is close to reaching maturity and required national and international recognition. With an intense activity in the last two years, VentureConnect is recognized for successfully facilitating investment opportunities. For the next few months, the Foundation will launch a series of initiatives to be announced shortly, all dedicated at reaching the set goals for VentureConnect Foundation “, states Peter Barta, Executive Director at Post-Privatisation Foundation.

The next VentureConnect event is scheduled for May 2012.