The Selection Process And Application

Before applying to present, we recommend that you 1) read the article on how to make a successful presentation from Ed Harley, chair emeritus of the Keiretsu Forum Software Committee, and 2) attend a Forum meeting at your local K4 Mid-Atlantic or South-East Chapter.

The eight-step process of selecting companies that present to Keiretsu Forum includes the following:

1. Application: Companies and entrepreneurs who are interested in securing angel funding through Keiretsu Forum fill out our online application [see below].
2. Pre-Screening: Applications are pre-screened by the appropriate committees, who select 7-10 companies to present at the monthly Deal Screening meetings.
3. Deal Screening: The Deal Screening presentations are twelve minutes long, followed by eight minutes of Q&A and feedback.  Presenters are allowed to stay and view all presenting companies, a learning experience in itself.  There are 3 possible outcomes from screening, YES, NO, or DELAY.  Typically three to four companies are offered the opportunity to present their stories and business plans at a future Forum Meeting (YES), two to three companies are informed that they are not a good fit for K4 members (NO), and three to four companies are told that the Screening Committee felt that they need additional time and effort before they will be invited to Forums(DELAY).  We offer to work with the DELAY companies to help prepare them to return to the process.
   Screening for both the Mid-Atlantic and South-East Regions takes place on the first Wednesday of each month in Philadelphia, PA with some exceptions.  Presenters located more than 5 hours travel time from Philadelphia may elect to do their Screening presentation remotely but we recommend that, if possible, you screen with us live and in-person.
4. Presentations: At the monthly Keiretsu Forum meeting, each company makes a 10-12 minute core presentation and then engages attending Forum members with 8-10 minutes of questions and answers.  Presenters are invited to present to all the chapters in the Region which allows them to gain maximum exposure to our members and accredtied investor guests.
5. Gold Sheet: After each entrepreneur presents, attendees complete our Gold Sheet which indicates potential due diligence and investment interest as well as valuable feedback which is colated into a report and delivered to the presenters the week following the Forum Meeting.
6. Discussion: After each presentation, entrepreneurs are excused and Forum members discuss the companies in our Mindshare sessions.  This exchange of opinions is designed to open up investors’ eyes and minds to thoughts and ideas that had not occurred to them during the presentations.
7. Due Diligence: The early stage or startup company enters into a comprehensive eight-ten week due diligence phase with the angel investing members who signed the interest sheet at the Forum Meeting.  It is common for one or two members to take the lead in due diligence and negotiations with the company.  While the members collaborate in the due diligence process, each one makes individual investment decisions.
8. Multi-Chapter Investing: After a company sparks interest from investors in the chapter closest geographically, it has the unique opportunity to present at other chapters of its choosing — broadening exposure to both expert advice and equity capital from Forum members.  Members of each chapter conduct their own due diligence, sharing their reports with the entire Global Investment Network on K4-DealRoom.com.  This provides the global-reach benefit of procuring your angel funding through Keiretsu Forum.

Fees For Presenting Entrepreneurs

There is never a fee to apply or participate in the Keiretsu Forum Screening Process.  If you are invited to participate in our Forum meetings, there is currently a $6,000 administrative fee to help cover the costs of running our meetings and 4 chapters in the Mid-Atlantic Region.  The administrative fee in the South-East Region is currently $1,500 per chapter.  Entrepreneurs who agree to present in both regions are offered a discount on combined fees to help offset transportation expenses.   This is the only fee you’ll face from Keiretsu Forum* — we are not broker-dealers and do not solicit success fees upon funding.

• NOTE: If you are selected by our members for due diligence there are standard charges for background checks, DD Fellows stipends, and legal review fees.  Legal fees for term sheet reviews and IP overview, if appropriate, are contingent upon funding.  We have prepared a DD Expenses at K4-MA – Guidelines for Entrepreneurs document that can be downloaded HERE.

Confidentiality

Keiretsu Forum Chapters do not typically sign non-disclosure agreements.  Therefore, executive summaries and other supporting documents submitted to Keiretsu Forum for consideration will not be treated as confidential — even if marked confidential.  Please only include information that you are comfortable sharing under these terms.

To apply to present your business, click the button below.