<p>Almost everyday we can read about or listen to the radio the creation of a new company, which is of course successfull and just started several months ago. One succeed but for how many other failures. In our everyday life we only know the companies which exist. We never consider all the high number of companies that have failed. In addition to that, by analyzing some cases, we can notice that some"good"companies, with good team, good concept can failed too. In order to understand the views that exist, one needs to elucidate this problem. The early stage of a new-created company is the most important phase of the firm´s life, according to the fact that it will determine the evolution of its whole structure, and therefore will deeply affect its future. All the more so a firm in order to be successful must be able to growth in the long run. With this thesis, we hope to contribute to a better understanding of the key- success factors ofyoung companies. Therefore we will try to clarify issues concerning this early stage. In particular we will highlight and describe that the early development in a firm is a very important phase in its life. And to determine which factors must be take in consideration in order to avoid future difficulties.</p>

Almost everyday we can read about or listen to the radio the creation of a new company, which is of course successfull and just started several months ago. One succeed but for how many other failures. In our everyday life we only know the companies which exist. We never consider all the high number of companies that have failed. In addition to that, by analyzing some cases, we can notice that some"good"companies, with good team, good concept can failed too. In order to understand the views that exist, one needs to elucidate this problem. The early stage of a new-created company is the most important phase of the firm´s life, according to the fact that it will determine the evolution of its whole structure, and therefore will deeply affect its future. All the more so a firm in order to be successful must be able to growth in the long run. With this thesis, we hope to contribute to a better understanding of the key- success factors ofyoung companies. Therefore we will try to clarify issues concerning this early stage. In particular we will highlight and describe that the early development in a firm is a very important phase in its life. And to determine which factors must be take in consideration in order to avoid future difficulties.

Unga företag utgör en stor del av alla företag i samhället och bidrar till utveckling inom många områden. För att unga företag ska kunna få förutsättningar att växa krävs det extern finansiering. Entreprenörer måste arbeta målmedvetet för att attrahera investerare till företaget. Tidigare forskning har till största del fokuserat på själva pitchingtillfället. Syftet med denna studie är att utveckla kunskap och förståelse för hur processen kring förarbetet inför pitchtillfället ser ut för entreprenörer i tillväxtorienterade unga svenska företag som vill attrahera investerare på kapitalmarknaden. Studiens forskningsansats utgår från kvalitativ forskningsmetod och har en abduktiv ansats. Den empiriska data består utav 12 intervjuer med entreprenörer från unga företag runt om i Sverige. Dataanalysmetoden som används är Gioia-metoden. Empirin visar att extern finansiering via affärsänglar, riskkapitalbolag och riskkapitalister har sökts och erhållits. Det anses vara viktigt att ta hänsyn till de anspråk som kommer med investeringen och investerarnas bidrag utöver kapital värderas högt. Förarbetet beskrivs inkludera förberedelse av dokument och presentationsmaterial samt se över hur det ser ut i organisationen. Det anses vara viktigt att kolla upp och lära känna investeraren för att kunna anpassa pitchen. Vid attraherande av investerare är det viktigt att framstå som legitim, trovärdig och att skapa förtroende. Kontinuerlig kommunikation och information är viktigt för att skapa starka relationer med investerarna. Relationerna måste vårdas och tas hand om för att bibehållas och utvecklas. Processen från förberedelser till pitch kan delas in med hjälp av ett tidsperspektiv som utgörs av tidiga och senare förberedelser. Det är ofta svårt att erhålla externt kapital via investeringar, därför utgör förarbetet en viktigt grund för att lyckas få investering. Förarbetet är också viktigt för att kunna bygga starka investerarrelationer. Olika investerarna kan skilja sig åt gällande krav och syften, vilket gör det viktigt att kolla upp och lära känna investerarna för att kunna anpassa förarbetet och pitchen. Nätverk är en viktig del i processen, det är både centralt för att få investering och något som företaget erhåller med investering. För att göra ett ordentligt förarbete behöver företaget börja i god tid. Det önskas mer hjälp och stöd i denna process innan pitch för att underlätta arbetet som entreprenörer lägger ner. Vidare borde förarbetet få mer fokus än vad pitchen får eftersom förarbetet ligger till grund för att lyckas med en framgångsrik pitch. / Young companies represent a large part of all companies in society and contribute to development in many areas. In order for young companies to be able to grow, external financing is required. Entrepreneurs must work purposefully to attract investors to the company. Previous research has largely focused on the actual pitching opportunity. The purpose of this study is to create and develop an understanding and knowledge of what the process of preparation for the pitch opportunity looks like for entrepreneurs in growth-oriented young Swedish companies who want to attract investors in the capital market.  The study's research approach is based on a qualitative research method and has an abductive approach. The empirical data consists of 12 interviews with entrepreneurs from young companies around Sweden. The data analysis method used is the Gioia-method. Empirical evidence shows that external financing through business angels, venture capital companies and venture capitalists has been sought and obtained. It is considered important to consider the claims that come with the investment and the investors' contribution in addition to capital is highly valued. The preparatory work is described to include preparation of documents and presentation material and to review what it looks like in the organization. It is considered important to check up and get to know the investor in order to be able to adapt the pitch. When attracting investors, it is important to appear legitimate, credible and to build trust. Continuous communication and information are important for creating strong relationships with investors. The relationships must be nurtured and taken care of in order to be maintained and developed. The process from preparation to pitch can be divided using a time perspective that consists of early and later preparations. It is often difficult to obtain external capital through investments, therefor the preparatory work is an important basis for succeeding in obtaining investment. The preparatory work is also important in order to be able to build strong investor relations. Different investors may differ in current requirements and purposes, which makes it important to check up and get to know the investors in order to be able to adapt the preparation and pitch. Networking is an important part of the process, it is both central to getting investment and something that the company receives with investment. To make a proper preparation, the company needs to start well in advance. More help and support is desired in this process before pitching to facilitate the work that entrepreneurs put in. Furthermore, the preparation should get more focus than the pitch gets, because the preparation is the basis for a successful pitch.