Assessment 3 Capital

Capital readiness

Most plans do not fail because the business is bad. They fail because the owner cannot talk about the plan as well as it reads, and cannot show they could actually carry it out. A funder is listening for both: that you understand your own plan, and that you can execute it.

The plan gets you in the room.
The conversation gets you funded.

Your story has four parts, and each one has a job

Drop a part and you drop the case. Funders read for all four.

The ProblemProves there is real demand. Someone is willing to pay to solve this.
The CustomerProves there is a market, primary and secondary, and you can name them.
The Revenue ModelProves you know how value turns into dollars, and how that scales.
The EvidenceProves you can learn and adapt. Historical data, customer feedback, pivots you made.

Know your revenue streams

One lump sum on a revenue report hides the story. A restaurant that splits dine-in, online, catering, and events can see that events is the growth engine and dine-in is shrinking. Same total revenue, completely different conversation. What are the natural 3 to 5 categories your revenue breaks into?

Know which costs are variable and which are fixed

Variable costs grow with revenue: food cost per plate, materials per job, commission per deal, hourly labor tied to production. Fixed costs stay the same whether you sell zero or a thousand: rent, insurance, salaries, software, loan payments. If you cannot tell a funder which is which, you cannot speak to your numbers.

Projections have to pass two tests

Is it logical?
Do the numbers connect to the story? Revenue per stream times volume equals total revenue. Variable costs scale with the streams that are growing.
Is it realistic?
A thousand units at $100 is logical math. But if you are solo, can you actually produce a thousand? Funders fund what is feasible, not just what adds up.

Logical projections get you the meeting. Realistic projections get you the money.

Every hire generates, protects, or frees up

A position either directly drives new revenue, keeps existing revenue from leaking, or recovers someone else's time so they can do one of the first two. If you cannot put a hire in one of those three buckets, you are not ready to make the hire. Include yourself: are you paying yourself, or is your labor invisible in the projections?

Five questions a funder is asking

If you can answer these out loud, without notes, you are ready for the conversation.

  1. Walk me through your staffing model. Who is in place, who is planned, and when?
  2. Does this hire generate revenue, protect revenue, or free up someone who does?
  3. You are projecting growth. What has to be true for that to happen?
  4. How will these funds directly change the business? Be specific. What will it produce, and how will you know it worked?
  5. You said you will launch in 30 days. Walk me through week one.
Assessment Three

Capital Readiness Check

Am I ready to take on capital?
Sign in to start this assessment8 questions · about 3 minutes · nothing to prepare
  • Runs in your GCMI member portal, so your answers and results are saved to your account
  • New here? Creating an account takes under a minute
Important: This self-check is educational. It is not a loan application, not a credit decision, and not a pre-approval or commitment of any kind from GCMI. Nothing here is a promise of funding. If you are signed in, your result saves to your account so your GCMI coach can see it.