When will the right time come for you to pitch your big idea to that big investor? If you are waiting for it to just happen, out of a random or chance meeting, then go and buy a lottery ticket. If you think that is the only way you will get a shot, you are mistaken.

Think about it from an investor’s point of view. They have a responsibility to invest the money that they are entrusted with wisely. Did you catch that? They have a responsibility to invest; it is their job to give money to people or organizations with great ideas. This bodes well for you getting an opportunity to pitch your idea.

All you have to do is get through the filters. Investors do not have time to entertain every single person with a crazy idea who wants to ask them for money. That is where filters come into play. Investors setup a series of filters to weed out poor investments from those that show greater potential. Most investors use a combination of filters; the bigger the investor the more filters you will run into. A word to the wise, do not try to undermine the filters; they are in place for good reasons. If you try to skip through, you will not get through. Instead work your way through the filters; remember the investor has a responsibility to invest their money.

Here is a list of some of the types of filters you may run into:

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In my post When to Make a Pitch to Investors I touched on the fact that if you are going to make it big you can’t be the board chair, CEO, CFO, COO, designer, marketer, administrative assistant, and the janitor all by yourself.

This isn’t a case of “stick to what you are good at”. In fact, as an innovator and designer, I would be the first to suggest you to try new things. Nonetheless, as you build your new business, new product, or new innovation I would encourage you to take five minutes to check your status.

Where are you now? Where do you want to be? And should you give up control of one or more aspects of your business to get there?

So you need to raise capital to take your innovation to the next level. Few people like to ask for money. It can be uncomfortable and can sour relationships. Don’t worry I am not going to pontificate on the dangers of money. However, I would like to give you ten rules that will assist you in making your pitch to potential investors.

Rule One: Ask for an Investment
Let’s start with the most important thing, you are not asking for money, you are asking for an investment; this means that they provide you with money now in return for something of greater value in the future.

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How do you know when it is time to make a pitch to potential investors? It can be difficult to give up a portion of profits or even worse control over something we have worked so hard for. I will give it to you strait, if you can get over yourself, now may just be the time to make your big pitch to a new investor.

Let’s face the facts…

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I was reading a very politically-correct article the other day in which the author suggested, “let’s focus on solutions, not problems.” It suddenly struck me that this is part of the reason for Canada’s lack of achievement in innovation. We are afraid to focus on problems. In our culture, the word “problem” conjures up emotions of fear, anxiety, and panic. For myself, on the other hand, there is nothing more exciting than facing a difficult problem. Why? Problems point us in the direction of hidden opportunities. They are the “X” that marks the spot where the hidden “treasures” of your business are buried.

For those companies that are willing to focus on these problems and take the time to clearly define the issues, innovative solutions will follow. These are the “buried treasures”, the hidden business opportunities that are available for companies that are willing to invest the time and effort to discover them. These innovations will help your company improve its market share and increase its margins. So don’t shy away from problems and ignore them out of fear or anxiety.

Written by Guest Blogger: Tim Burke, P. Eng., President, Quark Engineering and Development Inc.

I received an email today from Ruben Robert the cofounder and head of marketing at Fellowforce.com. You may remember I introduced you to Fellowforce.com in this posting on June 16, 2007. Ruben sent me a press release outlining an exciting new way for organizations to gather innovative ideas.

Jeff Crites, Fellowforce.com Director/North America, explains:

“We started our platform for Open Innovation two months ago, and since then we’ve received ideas and suggestions for leading brands worldwide. The idea for this new service is due in large part to a submission in our own innovation box. A Fellowforce ‘Fellow’, Marcel Heinkens of the Netherlands, suggested we offer an Open Innovation widget for websites. Today, four weeks later, we’re introducing the ‘Innovate Us’ button, enabling any business to welcome ideas from a global force of innovators.”

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Don’t stop innovating just because you had a great idea and a successful product launch. It won’t take long for the competition to come along, so add to your idea. Here are some resources to keep you ahead of the competition

1. Look for emerging trends that will begin to impact your product. See also How to Identify Emerging Trends.

2. Plan out how you will restart your product’s life cycle.

In my last post, I brought up the idea that as designers and innovators we must consider our intentions and the consequences of missing intentions. For example, if our intentions do not include being environmentally friendly, we will still have an impact on the environment. Ignorance does not excuse anyone!

For that reason, I have created a list of 30 innovation and design intentions. Sometimes we intentionally create or affect these with our innovations. Other times, by not considering them we influence these factors by our ignorance. Not only do we need to consider how our innovations impact things when they are in use, but how they will continue to influence things when they are no longer useful.

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