BENEFITS

2018

Benefits, Application Process & Mentors

1. Entrepreneur Educational Sessions. Each company and their management team will have the opportunity to attend the annual Entrepreneurial Education Sessions which cover critical aspects of business growth and capitalization. Sessions cover the following topics: Funding, Term Sheets & Cap Tables, Financials, Intellectual Property Protection, Leadership, and Valuation and Price.

2. One-on-One Diagnostic Review. Each AVF Showcase finalist will have access to receive coaching on their presentation and marketing strategy that may be used directly in their slide deck. Companies are also free to use this information with other prospective investors outside of the AVF. The main goal of AVF assistance is to ensure that of each finalist presentations are in an easily understood format for attending investors.

Pitch Diagnostic with Cheree Warwick: As part of the value presented by the Angel Venture Forum, selected finalists are eligible for one free hour of presentation coaching. This will entail a practice session with an experienced coach and author of "Creating Business Plans that Actually Get Financed." Companies will schedule a time to meet with Cheree and given an opportunity to present, after which each company will work together to strengthen their presentation. Advice will be given on both the content of the presentation as well as how it is presented—both the order of and formatting of the PowerPoint® as well as personal presentation style. A proven method for presenting your company’s material will be shared during this important session. All finalists will receive a complimentary copy of her book. Please contact Cheree Warrick (cheree@theprofitpartner.com).

3. Participation at Demo Days. Each finalist is invited to attend presentations before investors and is encouraged to invite current and prospective investors.

4. Application Fee. Yes, we charge $100 per application. Why? Becuase we do. For a chance to be considered, please submit to AVF an application. Upon receipt of the application, AVF will send you a link to the registration and payment page in Eventbrite. AVF is grateful to our sponsors for their generous support to help underwrite this program and to keep costs low for both entrepreneurs and investors. This is just the cost of doing business.

Cheree Warrick

Cheree Warrick writes business plans and creates financial forecasts for companies seeking funding from banks and angel investors. During her 5 tenure at a national government contracting firm, Ms. Warrick was influential in helping the company grow from $50 million in annual revenues to $200 million. She set up the company’s pricing models for all RFP (Request for Proposal) responses, prepared the company’s annual budget and summarized all budget-to-actual results on a monthly basis.

In 2009, the entrepreneurial bug bit her and she decided to leave the corporate world to join her family’s bookkeeping business. During her tenure there, she assisted the company in serving over 35 clients in 22 industries. Her responsibilities included preparing monthly financial statements, producing annual budgets, and corresponding with CPAs in the preparation of corporate and personal taxes. As the company grew, management decided to seek bank financing for business expansion. The President of the Bank said Cheree’s business plan was one of the best he’d ever read. After receiving that compliment, Cheree decided to learn as much as she could about how companies position themselves to receive business financing.

Cheree’s goal is to help over one thousand companies receive over $1Billion in financing and has either coached or written business plans for close to 100 entrepreneurs. She authored a book to help business owners understand exactly what investors want to know before making a commitment. The book and her strategies are praised by numerous angel investors and commercial bankers including Barbara Corcoran of the hit TV show Shark Tank and Valerie Gaydos – founder of the Angel Venture Forum of D.C.

Cheree holds a Bachelors degree in International Business from American University and a Masters degree in Finance from George Washington University.