🚩 FREE Download

The Ultimate Red Flag Checklist

For Entrepreneurs Seeking Capital & Investors Evaluating Deals

✅ What You’ll Figure Out with this Check List:

📌 FOUNDERS: Are you investor-ready? Or about to waste time and money trying to raise capital getting easy no's rather than hard yes's?

📌 INVESTORS: Are you evaluating a startup and wondering if it will succeed—or fail? Invest more confidently when you can identify the red flags.

Learn what angel investors really look for in a business plan, pitch deck, and financial model—before they say yes.

🎯This check list is based on Karen Rands’ proven 10-point evaluation system used to screen hundreds of companies for angel groups and venture forums, this checklist will help you:

✅ For Entrepreneurs:

Uncover the red flags that could scare off investors.
Refine your pitch, business plan, and financials.
Are you Pitching perception or proof?
Get one step closer to raising the capital you need.

✅ For Investors:

Spot early warning signs of potential failure
Evaluate startup investment opportunities with more confidence
Avoid the “capital abyss” and the dreaded “plateau of death”

Use this form to submit your name and email... it's that easy.
You'll be taken to a confirmation page with the link for the Red Flags Checklist.

You'll get a follow up email with a full webinar that explains the RED FLAGs for Entrepreneurs, from an Investor's perspective.

📋 What’s Inside the Checklist?

Karen’s 10-Point Capital Readiness & Investment Risk Framework:

1. Clear & compelling value proposition and strategy

2 Accuracy and currency of market data & documents

3 Defined target market & positioning

4 Sound sales & go-to-market strategy

5 Strong competitive advantage and barriers to entry

6 Demonstrated traction — revenue, product readiness

7 Realistic milestones & KPIs

8 Qualified leadership team & advisors

9 Fair investment terms and potential ROI

10 Reliable financial model & assumptions

In the video you will receive by email after you sign up to get this checklist, you will learn how Karen gets to her 🟢 Green Light, 🟡 Yellow Light, 🔴 Red Light scoring system—when entrepreneurs and investors hire her to identify the RED Flags. so you know exactly where you (or your investment) stand.

🚦 How to Use This Checklist

Carefully consider each element… is it an element contributing to the risk or determining the accurate value of the opportunity. What question it is really asking? Score each element on the scale of 1-5, then add up the total.

🟢 GREEN LIGHT = Score High in each category. You’re ready to pitch or invest with confidence.
🟡 YELLOW LIGHT = Needs clarity or follow-up in due diligence.
🔴 RED LIGHT = Major gaps or misalignment — stop and rework or walk away.

Total possible score is 75.

50 and above = Green Light

25 – 50 = Yellow Light

Below 25 = Red Light

I just wanted to let you know how impressed I am with your events and the caliber of companies you qualify to pitch at your events. You do an excellent job of organizing and moderating them.

Jay L.

Media Tech Investor

Karen has a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience working in her field and has established quite a reputation as a go-to person for financial consulting and development. I see her as the resource I always seek when I make acquisition and (...)

Ples B.

CEO, New Dimension Solutions

You are AWESOME!!! I appreciate so much who you are and what you do. You are always top of my mind when I need to recommend that a company get advice on capital strategy and access to capital. Your knowledge and ethics are unsurpassed in the Atlanta

Terry S.

Manager, Economic Development Incubator

I’m the founder of an early-stage startup. Karen coached me on angel investing. Her advice prepared me for a successful call with a potential investor! Helping me understand potential concerns allowed me to position myself effectively. I highly recommend (...)

Tracy T.

CEO & Founder, Software Startup

Who Is....

Karen Rands?

Karen Rands has been bringing innovation to market for over 40 years, first in her roles at IBM, then as the Managing Director of the Network of Business Angels & Investors (NBA&I). She learned from her investors and the hundreds of others she interviewed over the years, their lessons learned and applied that in her screening of companies to pitch at the monthly investor dinners and her annual regional venture conference. It was Karen’s job to make sure the startups coming to IBM were ready for market and venture capital, and the innovators seeking capital from her investor network were ‘Green lighted” to pitch.