Getting your venture funded means combining credible financial projections with a clear story.

• Do you need a well-designed, defensible financial model to demonstrate the viability of your business model to outside investors? To yourself?

• Are you frustrated with “spreadsheet experts” who know all the software tricks but don’t have the ability or interest to understand your unique business model?

• Do you need a PRIVATE, hard-nosed financial look at your model before you begin approaching potential institutional investors?

Knowledgeable institutional investors will tell you that you should write your own business plan, to ensure you really “own” its contents, and stand behind every word that describes your particular business model. Knowledgeable CEOs of emerging companies will also tell you they just don’t have the time, or the skills, to write an entire plan and run the business too. And they’re both right. What do you do?

Well, you could ignore them both. You can hire a business writer to put your dream into writing, and an accountant to build a spreadsheet that they think will sell to those with money to invest. Or you could buy a $200 template and do it yourself. Many CEOs do just that. Most of their plans get discarded with the junk mail, if they even make it into the door. Professional investors know the difference, and they’re not likely to be very interested in your business idea if you can’t take the time to fully develop it.