About a year ago, Akira wrote about 10 Big Questions investors want answers to about your business. I want to discuss the 10 Big Lies entrepreneurs tell investors in response.

Your product is “unique”, it is already in “Beta”, it has no known competition, your systems architecture is “totally scalable”, the “Blue Chips” are “about to sign a partnership agreement”, and by getting “only” 3% of the market share you will bring $50 Million in revenues annually. Your business plan is bound to blow investors away, right? Think again.

Not only have they have seen it all, they’ve seen it so many times that they have Top 10 lists for almost each chapter of your plan. Lists like the ones Guy Kawasaki often posts on his blog. Check out his posts from January 8th, April 27th and April 30th 2006, and you may find a few strangely familiar looking statements.

Any rules of thumb?

1) If you find more than one match from his (or other similar) lists, you’d better check your pitch again.

2) Try to highlight what’s already been accomplished and progress already made, rather than pointing to what’s “about” to happen “next week”.

3) Before mailing your business plan to investors, it wouldn’t hurt to show it to a few experienced professionals or expert friends for a “devil’s advocate” check, and make sure you can back up all your statements and answer all their “mean” questions.