I am always dismayed when entrepreneurs spend good money to attend investor conferences (plus travel and lost opportunity costs) but arrive unprepared. What are they thinking? Recently observed examples: A company's spokesman arrived without the PowerPoint presentation, relying on a service provider, who came late. Company representatives looked like "deer in the headlights" when investors asked logical questions, and worse, offered inconsistent answers. A presenter showed up late and left early, with just enough time to deliver the PPT, but he missed the more important networking time, before and after. The conference organizers stated the length of the allocated presentation time in advance to all presenters, but a few hadn't even hit the financials by that deadline - and got cut off. Entrepreneurs didn't send in their attendees' names early enough to be printed in the roster or their summaries early enough to be printed in the book distributed to all attending investors. Entrepreneurs only have one opportunity to make a first impression. Don't blow it. Seeking investment is just as much work, and requires just as much preparation, as any other business endeavor.