The September 2005 issue of the Business 2.0 magazine heralds a very interesting piece for those thinking of starting a company. Entitled “The $50M Giveaway,” their writers asked 11 venture capitalist investors what business ideas they are ready to fund. In a previous piece, the magazine discovered that investors have some business ideas in mind that they think would really work, and they are simply looking for the right business plan and the right team to come along. If the right business plan comes, they are willing to put down millions of dollars in startup capital. Just like that.
Below are some of the busines ideas that venture capitalists are itching to write a check for (note that most are IT related given the focus of Business 2.0 magazine):
- Subscription PCs tailored for seniors that they can rent on a monthly basis
- Mobile ID authorization system for credit card purchases
- Software to provide better upsale recommendations online
- Application that converts proprietary banking software into a co-op IT service for member banks
- Smarter smartphone (e.g. phones that can open doors)
- Open source application for maintenance of a company’s IT backbone
- “Souped up” Craigslist for every neighborhood everywhere
- VOIP-enabled software to automate and customize phone orders
- Plug and play mobile services
- Wireless home monitoring network for recuperating hospital patients
- Software for convergence of gadgets in your home
So how can you charm the venture capitalists into giving their money to you? Business 2.0 offers 5 suggestions:
- First rate executive summary (think of 2-second elevator pitch)
- How you think you are going to dominate the market
- Strong management team to prove that you and your group are up to the job
- Realistic market analysis
- Realistic financial goals and assumptions, including how much capital is needed and how much revenues can be expected
Read more of the article.
