I agree with Tim and John and that is where most have to go and what they have to do.

After writing hundreds of business plans for clients the last 2 decades, F&F is almost always the starting point... So to take a slightly different angle to answering your question, the foundation of it all is the business plan itself. You must make sure it addresses the right questions and the more brevity you use in doing so will increase your chances of success in raising money.

All business plans are not created equal and most business plans do not address the right things to raise real money. Two of the biggest failures in business plans I see: (1) They don't effectively communicate a workable business model; and, (2) The financial model and business plan do not tell the same story, it must be harmonious and all assumptions must be realistic, valid and viable.

If you have a business plan that has those two things at it's core and the customer's pain and its solution are identified and deliverable, then your chances of success increase greatly.