Imagine my surprise when what really happened
was that I learned, really learned what was inside of the angel and
VC industry. I learned that investors really do not want to invest in
first time entrepreneurs (and how to get around this). I learned how
startup investors really work! (and how to turn it to your advantage)
I learned the process to raising money that dramatically increases
the odds of success for any entrepreneur!
When my co-founder and I decided to create the
VentureWrench Startup Coaching Community, we wanted to share what we
had learned, to help more entrepreneurs transform from being a
"newbie" to being a "smart and savvy"
entrepreneur that investors are interested in backing.
By looking back at both my own fundraising, my
time giving out funding, my investor ties, and the experiences of all
of those other entrepreneurs I have mentored, I was able to identify
a "process" that any entrepreneur who wants to raise money
can follow. It's a process that will help an entrepreneur know if
their market is big enough to interest investors, and whether raising
money is something interesting to them and suitable for their
business.
I started speaking to local entrepreneurs,
giving a presentation about this process I called "Designing the
Perfect Investor™ ".
One day, I was asked by a friend on the investor side if I would
present my "Designing" presentation to a group of
handpicked entrepreneurs from all over the country. I was happy to
help, but as we walked in, I asked my friend if this was really the
best presentation on raising money that he knew of (of course I
wanted to go learn from the best one!).
He stopped me cold with what he said next - he
said "It is the best one, Nicole, because it is from the
perspective of the Entrepreneur, and everything else out there is
from the perspective of the investor!” Well, that comment changed
my life, and I hope it will change yours!.
I've watched and looked ever since, and he's
still right. Entrepreneurs do write posts, or are recorded talking
about their "experience", but it’s mostly about how cool
they are. When you look at the "courses" and the
"bootcamps" and "how-to" presentations about how
to raise capital, they all seem to come from the investor perspective
even if that investor used to be an entrepreneur.
When I was raising my first round of funding, I
said, "That's what I need, the investor perspective." But
what I didn't realize was that raising funding for my company was the
negotiation of a lifetime, and it's the negotiation of your lifetime
too!
(If you didn't already grab it, get some of my best insights in
our unique VentureWrench Guide to Investor Capital which
includes insider insights about angel investors, venture capital
investors, equity crowdfunding, best ways to structure your deal and
much more! )
When I buy a used car, I don't rely on the used
car salesman to tell me how to negotiate the best deal, instead I do
my homework from unbiased sources. When you are negotiating with
investors, you need unbiased sources too!
That’s where VentureWrench comes in. Our
goal is to give you unbiased, entrepreneur-centric information to
help you bring in capital to your business with our Designing the
Perfect Investor methodology (if you already know you need it, click
here!).
Next time
we’ll talk about how the “Designing the Perfect Investor Process
works and how it can help increase the likelihood that you will raise
money from high quality investors who want you, and your company, to
succeed.
