Kick me in the Teeth. Please.

Let's say you have a great business idea and would like to raise some money to grow or start-up. You spend a few days putting together the best plan you can. Let's assume you have a lot of flaws in the plan. You sit down in front of the investors/reviewers and give them what you got. What do you think the results would be?

If your plan has flaws, surely you'll get something like, "You've got a lot of heart, kid. And this is a great plan. But there's a lot of holes. There's a lot of things you didn't consider and things you cannot account for. We're just not going to be able to help you right now"

This is a good thing. The whole point in putting together a plan is to go through the thinking exercise of evaluating where you are and where you are going. Adding extra eyeballs to that process only makes it better.

So let's say you have a great business idea and a great plan. Let's say it's the best plan they've seen all year. You've got a great idea and plan. You've shown income and that the machine works. You finish giving them your pitch and look at them across the table. They smile and say:

"You've got a lot of heart, kid. And this is a great plan. But there's a lot of holes. There's a lot of things you didn't consider and things you cannot account for. We're just not going to be able to help you right now"

They say the exact same thing.

Why is that ? Why would they trounce a good plan?

Because if you have a good plan, the investors and reviewers are moving from evaluating the plan to negotiation with you regarding your business. Whenever you are negotiating, the best way to start is to take the hardest line possible. If you're going to buy a car, do you talk about how great it is to the seller? Or do you say something like "gee. this is a great car, but it has a lot of mileage on it, and those tires look like they need to be replaced, and the floor mats are rugged, and... "

You get the picture. If they don't like your ideas, they're going to trash your plan. If they like your ideas, they're gong to trash your plan. Whatever happens, they're going to trash your plan. That doesn't mean that any criticism is invalid: far from it. In either case, you are likely to get good criticisms. That's good. And that makes it worthwhile to do. Just don't expect a bunch of high fives, no matter what the quality of your plan.

I am now a wiser person.