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I really don't have a "plan" right now, but have been offered a meeting to pitch to an entrepreneur that has already sold at least two companies they founded each for over 100 million. They know I don't have a plan, and still agreed to meet. Any suggestions?

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you can ask for initial funding to develop a proper plan. – littleadv Aug 3 '12 at 20:11
@littleadv: True, though I was thinking of selling them on their own plan during the meeting. Meaning that I would just find out what they want to do, add to it, and offer to do make it happen; at least that's currently how I pitch myself as a co-founder currently. – blunders Aug 3 '12 at 20:15
Playing devils advocate - if you don't have a plan, why would you need funding? The Startup ecosystem is doing a great job of hyping funding and investment - pretty sad really. – Nick Stevens Aug 3 '12 at 21:30

3 Answers

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You might say that your goal is to start a company and that you plan to use your business acumen to find founders that have a viable business model. And then, once you'll find them, you'll join the team to scale the business, for which you'll need the capital that these investors have.

I think that if I were an investor and found someone smart who would be willing to invest 3-6 months to find me a good startup investment, I'd give him some money to go about doing this.

So to answer your question, you might say that your plan is to find a startup worth investing into.

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+1 @frenchie: Do you know of an example of anyone that as a single person has done this before, or a starting point for creating a pitch based around your suggestion? Thanks! – blunders Aug 3 '12 at 22:30
Well VCs have entrepreneurs-in-residence who just listen to 100s of pitches to find a startup worth joining and funding. So instead of an institutional EIR, you could innovate and pitch yourself as a personal EIR for your investors. Don't know anyone who's done it but I'm pretty sure the concept can be sold. Good luck! – frenchie Aug 3 '12 at 22:51
Ha. So a few years ago I forced myself to listen to a pitch a day for 6-months in person. Really wasn't much of a filter, met a lot of "interesting" people, and in the end found something that was interesting to me, but not sure that I'd want to repeat that experience... :-) ...that said, I agree your answer is an answer, and currently the only answer too. – blunders Aug 3 '12 at 23:10
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I'm sure with your experience, you'll be better prepared this time around. And, you can tell your investors that you've been there done that; and that can only help. I think you should ask for 50K and say that you'll come back in 6 months with something worth investing 1Mio+ for a potentially high return. In my opinion, 50K should be a good-sized stake to start with and show you're serious. Make sure to keep a log of every startup you talk to. You could say that you're going to evaluate startups using amazon.com/Business-Model-Generation-Visionaries-Challengers/dp/… – frenchie Aug 4 '12 at 0:53
@frenchie Yes I agree 50k is good. I think more than 50k sounds more like a fantasy. If investor want to give you more it will come from him. – zapoo Aug 4 '12 at 1:58
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up vote 1 down vote

You many not have a written business plan, but I hope you have a plan and are prepared to sell.

By sell, I mean you should be able to demo your concept, sell yourself / team / unique value proposition, abilities to go from concept to launch with the appropriate research & burn levels. IF you are a known entity to the entrepreneur, then many of these things have already been vetted.

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If I had a plan, this would relate: "Quick Tips on Raising Startup Funding Without A Plan"; that found by doing a Google of my question: "How to get funding without a plan?" – blunders Aug 3 '12 at 20:25
I have no plan, in fact, most of the time I just talk to people, figure out what they're interested in, and pitch them on their own ideas on the fly; this approach used on co-founders, but figure same thing would work for investors too. – blunders Aug 3 '12 at 20:35
@jimg great advice! – zapoo Aug 3 '12 at 20:46
@zapoo: How is it "great advice" if it does not answer the question? I clearly stated I do not have a plan, nor am I going to make one up just to have one. The question asked is: "How to get funding without a plan?", not how do I get funding without a written business plan. – blunders Aug 3 '12 at 20:56
@blunders: also read Dharmesh'es 2007 post as well. I've pitched (and received) seed and A round investments and personally would never waste an investors time without a plan of attack on how I could make them money. In my mind, a "pitch" is a plan - esp. if you are asking for money. Otherwise it is a social engagement. But everyone is different - your results may vary. Good luck. – jimg Aug 3 '12 at 22:17
up vote 0 down vote

I know what you mean about not having an actual plan. Mine is in my head and it is very detailed and quite perfect so why would I have to write it down?

I would say just suck it up and start writing and it will be done before you know it. There are guides online to help you organize and get started. Investors unfortunatly like cold hard facts and figures before they part with their hard earned money on a smile and a promise. :)

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It's not correct to say I have a plan, I do not have a plan written or otherwise; nor am I going to make one up just to have one. – blunders Aug 4 '12 at 15:53

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