Sample Questions and Issues

The Backstage Answer Vault and Video Chat libraries (video library launches in August 2024) initially cover over a hundred typical questions and issues about business formation, launch, funding, growth and market insights in many key industries and segments, including the 50 samples below, and many more:

  1. Where and when should I form a company?
  2. Proprietorship, LLC or corporation - plusses and minuses?
  3. Operating Agreements, By Laws and Board Actions: Are there some tips on these?
  4. What are some funding how-tos?
  5. What, in general, do investors look for?
  6. What are some common barriers for investors?
  7. How do I establish a defensible valuation?
  8. What are Regulation D and Sec 4a2 in fundraising?
  9. Do I need (or want) an Exit Strategy?
  10. Is crowdfunding a good option for me?
  11. What is the SEC's Regulation Crowdfunding and how does it work?
  12. What do I need to know about PPMs and Subscription Agreements?
  13. Will I need a full Business Plan or is a pitch deck enough?
  14. Ideally, what should be covered in a Business Plan?
  15. What separates a "Business Plan" from a fundable "Investment Plan"?
  16. What are some Pitch Deck "dos" (i.e., best practices)?
  17. Are there Pitch Deck don'ts?
  18. For websites, are there some best practices?
  19. Executives: What are the best types and the "not so best"?
  20. Consultants: Will I need one, or more, and what for?
  21. Lawyers: Will I need one, or more, and what for?  
  22. Trademarks: Will I need one and what does it do for me?
  23. Patents: Should I/can I patent my concept or parts of it?
  24. Copyright, trade secrets, NDAs and MTAs: What are a few tips?
  25. Financial modeling: How necessary is this?
  26. Financial modeling: Are there any few rules of thumb?
  27. What are the benefits of a P&L vs. Balance Sheet and Cash Flow statements?
  28. How do I not get sued by disgruntled funders: Or, more importantly, how do I not lose?
  29. How can I/Should I try to utilize AI concepts (20 or more topics, see link)?
  30. Entertainment Industry subjects (20 or more topics, see link).
  31. CRE/Ag-Big Ag/Cannabis subjects (20 or more topics, see link).
  32. Tech platform subjects (20 or more topics, see link).
  33. How should founding team bios and team histories best be presented?
  34. What are the most common mistakes to watch out for?
  35. Potential future problems: How do I identify and address these?
  36. Is my marketing plan sufficient to pass muster with investors, other potential stakeholders and, most importantly, customers?
  37. Have I adequately identified the real market opportunity?
  38. Have I properly stated what is wrong with the market that my business model can fix?
  39. How can I know and show that my lead founder skills are comprehensive and demonstrate that I'm the right person to steer the ship?
  40. What if my seed money came from F&F, or what if my new investors want management roles?
  41. Have I adequately planned for supply and demand scenarios that might not be in the company's favor)?
  42. How do I effectively profile the competition?
  43. Have I adequately anticipated moves by rivals?
  44. Have I adequately shown differentiation from the competition, and how do I show that customer uptake and business scaling will accelerate quickly?
  45. Do I have the right team, are there weaknesses in team members (e.g., buddies who don't know what they don't know), or am I valuing
    friendship over performance?
  46. Do I have the wrong seed investors (e.g., creating undue pressure to grow, undue demand for profit, or investors that don't provide value-add)?
  47. How can I attach experienced management members with industry experience (e.g., advisory board, mentors)?
  48. What happens if my customer engagement is lower than expected, or if I have a lack of uptake in the market?
  49. How can I assess/ensure that our products/services have solid distribution avenues?
  50. If my Plan A fails, should I and how do I create and move to a Plan B?