The best way to get our attention is to be introduced by someone we know and respect. They may be a friend of the firm, a professional advisor, a member of our advisory board or work for one of our portfolio companies or one of our investors. It is easier for us to evaluate a project when it comes through one of these sources.

Direct applications are best submitted by email to info@horizonequity.co.za.

Application Format
We do not have a standard application form. We prefer to see a concise business plan of between 20-30 pages written by a company’s management which covers the following essentials: product, market, business model, team, competition, technology, business development, and financial history.

Financial projections should be presented in an annexure with key assumptions clearly highlighted. Slick plans and multimedia presentations developed by external consultants generally join the back of the queue, along with business plans that run to hundreds of pages. They may never get read.

Our Decision Making Process
As a small owner-managed firm, our process is relatively simple and certainly more flexible than most of our competitors.

Following an initial review of your business plan for basic conformance with our investment criteria, one of our investment executives will be assigned to evaluate your business plan in more depth. At this stage, we ask ourselves whether the investment opportunity and the business plan are attractive and plausible at face value. In other words, assuming we take everything the entrepreneur says for granted.

Many plans do not meet this test, but if they do, we next like to discuss the nature and terms of funding that we could provide, in order to avoid a mismatch of expectations later on.

Once we have broad agreement on terms, we will assign significant resources, both internal and external, to focus on an in-depth assessment of the assumptions, opportunities and risks inherent in your plan as part of a due diligence process. During this stage we try to validate your business strategy and thoroughly test your financial projections. An important output of this process is a mutually agreed strategic plan and set of financial projections, which often differ from those originally presented.

As well as enabling us to make better investment decisions, we find this process helps us become well versed in the key issues and opportunities in front of management, so that we can become more effective partners post-investment.

Then, if we are able to build a consensus among our firm’s directors to invest, we do. Our investment decisions aren’t taken by nameless, faceless people sitting on investment committees. They are taken by our executive directors, all of whom you will get to meet in the course of our evaluation.

How Long It Takes
Generally, it takes at least 8 weeks of work to make a final investment decision, but it can take longer. It is best to approach us well ahead of the date at which funding will be required.

Our View on NDAs
We take confidentiality very seriously and have never shared any company’s confidential material with anyone outside our firm without their consent.

Given the number of plans we come across, it becomes a major challenge for us to manage the web of NDAs that results if we were to enter into one every time we review a business plan.

We, therefore, only consider signing NDAs with companies that have reached the due diligence stage of our process, when more detailed information will be required. If a company cannot provide us with sufficient information for our initial evaluation without signing an NDA, in most cases we will not consider it.

The best way to get our attention is to be introduced by someone we know and respect. They may be a friend of the firm, a professional advisor, a member of our advisory board or work for one of our portfolio companies or one of our investors. It is easier for us to evaluate a project when it comes through one of these sources.

Direct applications are best submitted by email to info@horizonequity.co.za.

Application Format
We do not have a standard application form. We prefer to see a concise business plan of between 20-30 pages written by a company’s management which covers the following essentials: product, market, business model, team, competition, technology, business development, and financial history.

Financial projections should be presented in an annexure with key assumptions clearly highlighted. Slick plans and multimedia presentations developed by external consultants generally join the back of the queue, along with business plans that run to hundreds of pages. They may never get read.

Our Decision Making Process
As a small owner-managed firm, our process is relatively simple and certainly more flexible than most of our competitors.

Following an initial review of your business plan for basic conformance with our investment criteria, one of our investment executives will be assigned to evaluate your business plan in more depth. At this stage, we ask ourselves whether the investment opportunity and the business plan are attractive and plausible at face value. In other words, assuming we take everything the entrepreneur says for granted.

Many plans do not meet this test, but if they do, we next like to discuss the nature and terms of funding that we could provide, in order to avoid a mismatch of expectations later on.

Once we have broad agreement on terms, we will assign significant resources, both internal and external, to focus on an in-depth assessment of the assumptions, opportunities and risks inherent in your plan as part of a due diligence process. During this stage we try to validate your business strategy and thoroughly test your financial projections. An important output of this process is a mutually agreed strategic plan and set of financial projections, which often differ from those originally presented.

As well as enabling us to make better investment decisions, we find this process helps us become well versed in the key issues and opportunities in front of management, so that we can become more effective partners post-investment.

Then, if we are able to build a consensus among our firm’s directors to invest, we do. Our investment decisions aren’t taken by nameless, faceless people sitting on investment committees. They are taken by our executive directors, all of whom you will get to meet in the course of our evaluation.

How Long It Takes
Generally, it takes at least 8 weeks of work to make a final investment decision, but it can take longer. It is best to approach us well ahead of the date at which funding will be required.

Our View on NDAs
We take confidentiality very seriously and have never shared any company’s confidential material with anyone outside our firm without their consent.

Given the number of plans we come across, it becomes a major challenge for us to manage the web of NDAs that results if we were to enter into one every time we review a business plan.

We, therefore, only consider signing NDAs with companies that have reached the due diligence stage of our process, when more detailed information will be required. If a company cannot provide us with sufficient information for our initial evaluation without signing an NDA, in most cases we will not consider it.