How Do VH & BVCA Intend to Improve The Investment Process?
During early/mid 2013 Venture Hothouse will be launching ‘Fund My Business’ (FMB), a new partnership initiative between Venture Hothouse and the BVCA which will be based online.
The FMB website will utilise the VH tools and provide all BVCA members with free of charge access to view business plans that are created by entrepreneurs via the FMB website. BVCA members will be also benefit from the use of a new Evaluation Module contained within the VH tools, which has been jointly developed by VH and the BVCA. This module will enable BVCA members to create profiles of specific investment opportunities that interest them, via a series of filters.
In much the same way, entrepreneurs can also use the Evaluation Module to have their completed business plans scored. Depending upon the output of the plan and the score, a matching engine will in turn provide BVCA members with the facility to easily locate and identify opportunities which match their individual specific investment profile.
This approach will support the BVCA's objective of streamlining their selection and assessment process.
One key benefit for entrepreneurs of a business plan developed via the VH Tools on this website, will be the future ability to migrate the plan into the Fund My Business system. Thus, an entrepreneur then can use the Evaluation Module to have the business plan scored. Based on the output of the plan and its score, the entrepreneur can subsequently benefit from a number of recommended options which may include:
- Signposting to other suitable resources such as mentoring /advice and sources of funding including bank finance and grants
- Showcasing to the Angel Investor network
- Inclusion within a matching engine that will allow BVCA members to easily find and identify opportunities that match their investment criteria
- Syndication with other investors and alternative methods of business funding
More information on the BVCA can be found here: http://www.bvca.co.uk/home
