In August the docksides and inlets in North Norfolk are lined with kids casting bait (bacon or salami are highly effective) on primitive fishing lines to catch the abundant crabs that lie close to the surface. Perhaps the crabs know the odds are stacked in their favour or they are so greedy but little boys and girls pluck them out at will before returning them to the sea.
What would entrepreneurs and executives give for a similar ease with the capital raising process? The reality today is that unless you are a well known “brand” with a powerful investor network, raising money is hard. Investors can be very choosy, they largely congregate in locations with big clusters of potential businesses to invest in and they are drawn to people, who have demonstrably made investors serious cash on cash on multiple occasions.
1. What are you doing to dramatise your value to your ideal investor(s) and the singularity of your investment proposition? (Use of powerful language, a peer of opinion makers, harnessing evangelists, creating excitement and so forth)
2. Why invest in you? (“Hot” proposition in the investor’s sweet spot)
3. Why invest now? (Brief window of opportunity)
4. Why invest in the manner you are proposing? (Special circumstances).
Time is the most precious commodity. You cannot rely on the kids fishing line, you must caste a fishing net to attract potential investors. You need to know where the high potentials reside. You need compelling “bait”. You need multiple conversations to be constantly moving in parallel, not sequential stages. You need to be constantly replenishing the investor pipeline with high quality leads. This is not a kids sport, this is your wealth at stake. Time to get serious.
© James Berkeley 2016. All Rights Reserved.
