Your first submission to a VC should be an executive summary, not a complete business plan. A complete business plan attempts to tell a VC everything there is to know about your company. At this stage in the process there are too many other plans being submitted; VCs do not have time to learn everything about every company.

In this early part of the review process, VCs are not trying to decide whether or not they will invest in a company; VCs are just trying to figure out if there is a possibility that they will invest given the high-level characteristics of the business. Since there are a lot of these submissions to review, they need to quickly decide if they want to learn more or pass.

As a result, entrepreneurs should try to work within the process by submitting a clear and concise executive summary. The purpose of an executive summary is to get the first meeting. Don't try to rush the process. Focus on constantly getting to the next level - the fundraising process is a marathon.

Comments

[Nicola Kinsella]

Thanks Mark, I just saw your post on the NY Tech Meetup mailing list. Good stuff! I just added a link to your blog on my links page at nicolakinsella.com.