“Look, we have proof! Excel says that we will be a $50m company in year 5, the hockey stick revenue forecast shows it all!”
No investor will buy this story. She knows the forecast is ridiculously optimistic, but she can check 2 things:
- Is there more logic to the $50m than a conservative 5% of a $1bn IDC market forecast? Have you thought about how your business works, and how to think about its revenue potential? If not, the investor should invest in a company that claims the other 95% of the $1bn.
- Are you driven, motivated, determined enough to go after the $50m against all the odds?
In other words, do you believe it yourself (really)? That might be the sign an investor is looking for.