How with just an MVP will you get funded for your business?
Prototype and MVP both are quite essential before you launch a product in the market. But that is not all you need to convince investors.
Imagine you have spent all the budget in building your MVP. Now how can you launch a final product without money?
Getting funding for a product idea is like a dream come true for many startups. Investors want to make sure that their funds are risk-free and secured. So they assess thoroughly while picking a project.
Just like most entrepreneurs, you can also get funds for your business success with just an MVP. The only condition is, your MVP must be a useful one and a real-life problem-solver.
Why is MVP needed to get funded?
When you approach investors, MVP helps investors with the following things.
- Investors can clearly identify product features
- It is easy to know about product feasibility
- Investors know how much awareness you have about the market
- They acknowledge what user feedbacks are
- They come to know about your professional team
- It is easy to identify how dedicated you are towards your idea
All these things assure investors that their money is in safe hands.
How to grab investors’ attention with just an MVP?
1. Verify your business idea
When you want to convince investors for the funding, you need to prove how viable your idea is. In the old days, startups used SWOT analysis. It helps to discover external factors that can cause project failure.
Nowadays, startups depend on a lean startup methodology to launch a product. It helps in validating business ideas with MVP compared to launching a complete product initially.
To lean market validation,
- Build a landing page
- Create a prototype
- Create MVP
- Interview your customers
- Find value proposition
- Eliminate false positives
2. Build a professional team
Search for skilled professionals that will encourage other team members. Do not hire the ones who are there to earn money only. Instead, get in touch with the individuals who have creativity in mind.
Try to avoid hiring for positions that do not even exist. Obviously, you might not get a second chance to hire a top-notch employee. But skip hiring for a meaningless position as much as you can.
Hire pathfinders who come up with creative ideas and implement them in real life.
Also, think about your organizational culture and analyze,
- The kind of people you need around you
- Values that are significant for you and your business
- The ways you want your business recognized by other people
- Things you are more likely to be engaged with
- The ways you will promote a corporate culture
To build a great corporate culture,
- Involve employees with productive tasks
- Amplify company policy
- Upgrade organizational culture
- Encourage and inspire employees
3. Search Angel Investors
People keep searching for investors who are open-minded and highly skilled. Find Angel investors that assist you economically and provide appropriate guidance.
A typical angel investor is more likely to invest in a business he is familiar with. Also, they like to invest in businesses that are in nearby areas. They will be in touch regularly to give their guidance and consultation.
Angel investors would love to expand their network. They are more likely to be social so belong to many groups and associations. There are many platforms through which you can connect with them.
When you want to discuss face-to-face, prefer meetups and conferences to find investors. Additionally, you can meet people who provide your references of inventors.
Angel investors mostly rely on references while picking a business to invest in. So it is fruitful to engage with people who refer you to investors.
4. Approach Angel Inventors
When you want to approach investors, you need to be prepared in advance. Here are some tips that will appeal to angel investors.
- Try to identify every detail about investors. (Background, number of projects they dealt with, hobbies, tastes, etc.)
- Prepare a great pitch
- Ask for advice or guidance
- Engage with your investors on social media
- Share user engagement and metrics of your MVP
- Rely on recommendation
- Leverage online fundraising market
Getting funds for your business with just an MVP is not easy. However, keep in mind that your business idea and the efforts you put in are excellent. Investors will come for your valuable and creative business idea. Keep faith and patience.
Summing up
Prototype and MVP both are quite essential before you launch a product in the market. But that is not all you need to convince investors. There are many aspects to consider before getting into the market with a complete product.
You have to provide more effort to make your investors believe in your idea. You need to share your team details, potential market opportunities, and swiftness. It will help to gain investor’s trust.
So make decisions carefully. Give full attention throughout the MVP development and choose appropriate tools.
Source: https://vocal.media/journal/how-with-just-an-mvp-will-you-get-funded-for-your-business