So maybe you have a killer idea for a Web 2.0 App. or Widget you will like to build, but you are still struggling with funding for the project. I will like to echo 15 Questions you are likely to get asked by Venture Capitalists and Angel Investors per InstigatorBlog’s and MindPetals blog posts, spiced up with my personal opinions. Be prepared! Be very prepared!!

1. What’s your business all about?
 This is the big pitch, reiterate your message throughout the presentation

2. What’s the barrier to entry for competition?
“We’re cooler than everyone else” won’t cut it

3. What’s going to stop a big bad wolf company in your space (eg. Google) from copying you and smashing you like a bug?
Tips: “We can move more quickly”; “They’ll want to acquire us rather than copy us”; etc

4. Why are you raising the money you want to raise?
Explain how you arrived at your numbers

5. How far does that money get you?
Figure out how far the money will get you if you have zero revenue

6. Do you have any customers? Have you spoken to potential customers?
Some good market research references (eg. surveys, discussion forums, etc.) will come in handy here

7. What’s your marketing strategy?
Marketing is key to your success so get a plan ready

8. What are you coding in?
LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, Perl), PHP/MySQL, Java/Oracle, .NET/SQL Server, .NET/Oracle, etc.

9. How will you handle the technological infrastructure for scaling?
Is your Web App. going to be able to hold up (performance-wise) when you get a sudden surge in user signups? Refer to my initial posting about “MySpace.com: Running a MegaSite on SQL Server 2005“.

10. What does the team look like? What are the backgrounds of each partner? Where are they located? What have they done in the past, and what do they each bring to the table?
The quality of the team is of great interest to investors. They also want to know how quickly you expect to grow the team and why you hired each partner. Remember, “THE TEAM IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE IDEA!!!”

11. On a scale from 1 to 10, how passionate are you about your idea?
This will gauge your commitment and confidence in your idea

12. Do any of your partners have other obligations that would distract them from the company?
This question seeks to gauge commitment to the project. Essentially, are there other distractions like other jobs or family-oriented responsibilities which might take away from your focus?

13. If we were to bring in a CEO that wanted to make changes to the business that would be in the best interest of the company, how comfortable would you be with that?
This will guage how flexible and open you are to relinquish some power in the best financial interest and also test your comfort level

14. Are you looking to sell the company once it’s established?
Essentially, are you in this for the long haul?

15. How far along are you to launching? What milestones have you established?
That is, are you setting goals and are you achieving them?

Even if you don’t plan on going out to get funding for you marvelous project, it is critical that you think through some of these questions before you jump on it!