My CEO Life

For much of the last 2 weeks i have been looking at business plans - lots of them. Each and every day i am approach by someone with a new idea. They are all wanting funding, all are claiming to have something special, and all truly believe they will be massive in a few short years.

The question for me is how do you find the real nuggets of gold amongst all the noise?

A couple of days ago i attended the Angel Connect conference in Hobart, Tasmania as one of the speakers. The conference looked at everything from what makes a good idea through to raising money, closing the deal and working with Angels and VCs.

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Economic conditions aroun the world are tough.  The question is now what is the likely impact on small businesses and more importantly those start ups that are reliant on funding to maintain their growth.

To answer this question, I came across a presentation from Sequoia Capita on startups and the economic downturn.

Here are the key messages:

1. The recovery will be long - dont expect a quick turn around
2. There are new realities - raising money on high speculative valuations is a thing of the past and series B and C funding will be very very tough
3. Customer take up of businesses will be slower than projected
4. Expense cuts are a must
5. You have to become cash flow positive

The presentation then goes on to talk about specific actions businesses should take.

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When i was the CEO of the REA Group, i was frequently approached with new business ideas.  In fact, since leaving the REA Group, i have been inundated with new business ideas.   Each day i receive an email from someone with the next best thing since sliced bread.  Often i receive just an email or even they find me on linked in or face book.  More often then not, they are looking for finance and sometime just free advice.

Now i don’t mind helping these guys out.  I think it is fun to look at new business ideas and to think through what they could become.  However, when looking at businesses to invest in, well i need a lot more than i often receive.

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