Jeff Matzen describes the information bankers want to know when funding new businesses.

At last night’s meeting of the Jackson Inventors Network (JIN), Jeff Matzen, a certified financial planner, provided succinct steps for entrepreneurs and inventors to get their ideas heard by banks and other funding sources.

“Money flows to good ideas,” said Matzen, adding banks and investors want to hear these ideas, but don’t have the time to read long proposals or prospectuses. At most they have 15 minutes for an introductory look, so Matzen described a format for providing the key information in a 14-page document.

With many of the proposals he sees, Matzen said there’s no “point on the arrow;” i.e. there is a lot of background information data but not a readily apparent concept. That’s why the document structure is important: It focuses on the information the lender needs to know, rather than the intriguing features dreamed up by the inventor.

Matzen currently owns his own financial planning company, Matzen Financial, and he is a Director of NorthStar Capital Advisory Services, a Jackson based merchant bank, offering financial consulting services to companies looking for access to capital. In the past four years, NorthStar has successfully raised more than $50 million for Michigan companies.