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step 14 your management team

An organization is driven by its people. No matter how unique or brilliant a business idea might be, after all the ideas need to be propagated and executed by people. Therefore, success of a venture is primarily dependent on its core management team and the cross section of manpower involved. Their credentials, business acumen, technical expertise, past experience etc, are all vital indicators for business success. Therefore, in order to prove your mettle as a profit generating business venture, you must have accomplished manpower and a well equipped management team at your disposal. They should be in a position to realize your business vision and take it to newer heights. Often, excellent business ideas run out of steam, only because they are subjected to incompetent hands and minds.

Investors too love to believe that the core to the success of an organization lies in its people. With the business scenario becoming increasingly competitive, we need to keep no stone unturned for creating an impact with investors. Therefore, a business proposal must cover every important aspect of the business, in an attempt to impress investors. There are investors who might reject your proposal only because there isn’t a core management team in place, or the manpower network does not seem impressive. Therefore, along with other vital aspects, one must always include details of the core management team and pertinent facts about them in your investor proposal. However, the technique of furnishing relevant information in the right manner should be mastered with some expert assistance.

Ideally the core management team should comprise of a maximum of 5 people and a minimum of 3. This team should only bear the names of professionals who are extremely crucial to the business processes. They should be the ones at the helm of affairs and must have the essential controls of the organization, up their sleeve. Including too many names in the core team might actually confuse the investors. Ones, who are not directly concerned with the day to day functions of the organization, must either be included in board of directors, or the consulting committee. All other regular entities must be included in “employees”. All these sections need to be explained individually in different sections of the business proposal.

The section on the core management team must be concise, yet must provide all the necessary details. To start with, the titles of the various posts occupied by the members must be clearly stated. This should be done, so that investors get to know which gentleman is occupying which post. This will enable to comprehend the portfolios clearly. The job responsibilities of the various posts must also be stated, so that the prospective investors are aware, who is responsible for what. Their past experiences must be mentioned, too. However, it’s preferable to include only related experience. There needs to be parity between what they have done in the past, and what they are currently a part of.

The account must also include their success stories and achievements, so that the investors can be prone to rely on them. You also must include their educational qualifications, in brief.

Next, you must provide a brief account of the various boards which have been appointed to manage the functioning of your company. To start with, provide a brief account of the members of the board of directors. State their names, functionalities as well as educational and professional credentials. Follow this with a vivid account of the board of advisors. The advisors play a crucial role in the functioning of a business house. They need to be individuals of great repute and honour. Ideally, advisors should have sufficient experience in the given field and must be well known in the business circuit.. Investors often rely on the quality of advisors, in order to gauge the viability of an organization and the authenticity of the ideas behind them. If you have a solid advisory board in place, chances are that your venture will be considered with a great deal of respect by investors.

Your management team also comprises of external consultants who provide their valuable knowhow, as and when required. They could be attorneys who provide legal consultation, financial consultants, and web based consultants and so on. If there are professionally accomplished consultants on board, investors might exhibit a certain amount of confidence in you. You also need to provide certain details about the company proprietors. Although, they may not be particularly famous, a professionally and educationally sound owner is slated to lead a successful company. Although the decision of investors might not solely depend on the identity of the owner, it could be one of the major factors affecting the same.

It is also important to provide some details about the organization structure and the respective spans of control. Even if you have not completed recruitment, provide a prospective organization chart. Take effort to mark the key personnel in your organization and describe their roles in great detail. Their responsibilities must be chalked out clearly, so that there is no overlap or clash of roles. One role should be bifurcated to sub-roles and allotted to the respective personnel. Do not go for a very lengthy and detailed structure. Modern organizations believe in flat structures and optimizing work force. Your workforce must be in tune with the scale of operations and the amount of investment to be pumped in.

Providing a brief account of projected salaries and incentives, might also interest the investor. They could be keen to study the salary structures, as this could be representative of the way workforce is being treated in the particular organization. Investors are always on the lookout for firms which are driven by a proficient and motivated workforce. Even if the organization has a mediocre idea at its core, an excellent team can drive it to success. Unfortunately, the reverse is not quite true. Even if you have a brilliant idea, low grade manpower can ruin it completely. Investors consider the human element of an organization to a large extent, before they can actually invest in an enterprise. If the workforce is well qualified, experienced, motivated and well structured, your organization is likely to be preferred over others, when it comes to investments. Keep your human resource is order, for garnering funds.

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