So you have a brilliant business idea that you're certain can make a lot of money. Now what?

You'll need a lot more than an idea if you looking to impress investors in the Canadian marketplace. According to the experts, you'll need a fantastic team, a captivating story, a product that's ready to hit the market and, if you're really on your game, you'll have some customers too.

And, to top it off, you should be able to pull together an impressive pitch in 90 seconds or less, according to TV pitch show star Kevin O'Leary.

"If you invest in 10 ideas, two of them will make money, six will never be profitable and two will go out of business," O'Leary recently told CTVNews.ca "So you need to make all your returns on the two that are actually successful, and that's really hard to do."

O'Leary says successful business pitches typically have three things in common: the entrepreneur is able to make a convincing 'elevator pitch' in less than 90 seconds, they are able to explain why their team is the right one to implement the business plan, and they know their numbers – market share, market growth and the number of competitors – inside out.

"If you don't know your numbers, you can be the best communicator and definitely have the idea that you can run the company, but the minute you make a mistake on numbers the confidence of the investor completely collapses."

Toronto-based startup marketing consultant Mark Evans said most successful business pitches tell a good story.

"When it really comes down to it, investors invest in people as much as they invest in products," Evans told CTVNews.ca.

He said investors want to know what experience the startup team brings to the table. The team's track record will show whether they have learned from past successes and failures.

One of the most common mistakes Evans said he sees among startups looking for funding is pitching their idea too soon.

"Canadian investors don't put money into ideas, that's not the way we're built," he said. "In Canada they put money into products, and they're more interested if the product has customers."

Evans said this is where Canada differs from the United States, where “there’s a bigger appetite for risk.”

“U.S. investors are a lot more willing to invest in a really good idea, particularly if the entrepreneur backing the idea has good and relevant experience,” he said.

He added that investors are also looking for a bold vision. Looking to capture five per cent of a billion dollar market is a "too simplistic" manner of looking at a business opportunity.

"If you're going for five per cent of a market, maybe your vision is a little modest," he said. "(Investors) want to see people who have a big, bold vision. But they're also realistic about the marketplace…investors want to deal with entrepreneurs that are realistic and have a great product with a great team."