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Are you Going to Make a Great Fit with Your Potential Investor?

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Asher Leids is a prominent super angel based in Santa Monica and specialized in early stage startups. Previous to investing individually he practiced venture capital, securities, mergers and acquisitions and general corporate law. In short he is an expert in what he is doing and knows startup investment inside out.

A vital task for entrepreneurs who are in the process of finding an investor is to figure out if you are going to be a good fit for each other. You don’t want to take the money from just anybody, you want to take it from someone who is a great match for you. But how do you know if you are going to be a good fit for each other?

Mr. Leids suggest to look at the investor as if it’s someone you want to marry, like choosing a life partner. You don’t want to end up in a nasty divorce. For example, if you go for lunch with you investor and during lunch the investor yells at the waiter or waitress, then you can figure out that this person will act the same way to you at some point. And will you be okay with that?

You need to be aware of who you are choosing, but also make an effort yourself. If you are not asking the investor the questions that makes him or her comfortable with the relationship, then it’s not going to lead anywhere. Imagine if you are on a first date and you didn’t ask your date any questions about what they were like, what their habits were or other personal questions, and just asked how much money they were bringing in to the relationship. Then that person will enter the relationship with a very different perspective.

Besides showing interest, according to Mr. Leids one of the other main things you need to think about when meeting your potential investor is to show that you are passionate about what you are doing. Tell the investor how strongly you feel for your product or service, don’t start the subject about needing investment.

At the end, it’s not only about the expectations that you have from the investor. It’s also about the expectations that the investor has about you what you should want from them. If it’s just the money then you are going to have problem right at the beginning. To learn more about the relationship between entrepreneurs and investors, listen to Asher Leids episode of Expert Dojo’s podcast; “The Art of Startup War” here:

https://soundcloud.com/artofstartupwar/the-art-of-startup-war-advice-from-super-angel-asher-leids

Michael Miller’s over 30 years of experience in the trenches of Wall Street law and finance provide him with a unique aerial view of the “do’s” and “don’ts” in start-up land. Mr. Miller’s Expert Dojo’s Podcast last year was voted as 2017’s most favorite. Known as one of LA’s most sought after mentors and advisors, Mr. Miller is generous with his time and advice, always willing to sit with anyone that asks for a 15 minute coffee. He reminds me with a smile, “Advice is really only worth what you pay for it”. Finally fortunate enough to shed the Wall Street uniform of coat and tie, he is focused on the things he loves. Including philanthropy, building Over 21 Capital Partners, which upon completion, will be the largest private fund in America, focused on adult-oriented investments (including cannabis, caffeine and alcohol). The launch of Table 21, the first conflict-free cannabis dining salon bringing together investors, companies, and legal, medical and legislative professionals. To add, he is the Senior Venture Partner for Fusion LA, which mentors and accelerates Israeli startups selected out of the 8200 Unit of the Israeli Defense Forces. He is also writing his second book entitled, “Weedonomics: From Criminal to Capitalist Enterprise”.

Mr. Miller, I mean Michael, (he firmly noted) that the most important factors are typically the ones that are never discussed, considered or even taught. “If I am going to bet on the horse, I better damn sure love the jockey” is a very powerful message. Even the most “perfect” companies have failed, when those involved forget something so simple. “We are both people.” My mother always told me, “Son you only have one chance to make a first impression. Make sure you wear clean underwear.” How will YOU make your first impression? As Michael expresses: “how can you have the greatest idea, but flame-out tragically?” Here are Michael’s top 5 things to consider to in making a remarkable first impression:

1. Maturity - Do you have the emotional intelligence to realize that you can’t know everything? Those that do, surround themselves with those SMARTER than they are.

2. Articulation - Are you clearly, concisely and effective? Do you look someone in the eye? Get to the point!

3. How You Dress - What is YOUR uniform? What image do you want to project? What take-away do you want to leave with a potential investor? Read more about how to dress for business purposes here;  https://www.businessknowhow.com/growth/dress-impression.htm

4. Confidence - Are you capable of getting outside your self-created comfort zone? Exude passion. Exude confidence. Or.. go get a 9 to 5.

5. Genuineness - Humble wins EVERY time.

These are the human skills that are not taught in school or in an MBA program, but that are so essential. These are the things that matter in life that you weren’t taught in school. To learn  more about how to impress your potential investor, listen to the first podcast episode of “The Art of Startup War”, click here:

https://soundcloud.com/artofstartupwar/michaelmiller

For more startup investment podcast episodes, please visit: 

Nicole Quinn is an investor at Lightspeed Venture Partners (http://lsvp.com), focused on early stage consumer technology companies, having invested in companies such as Girlboss, Goop, Zola; the largest online wedding registry, Rothy’s; the most comfortable stylish shoes made of plastic recycled bottles and Dote; the virtual mall. She spent 8 years at Morgan Stanley covering the European and US e-commerce, retail and consumer companies. Nicole is passionate about the trends in human behavior, especially consumer technology, and also helping entrepreneurs who have the ability to improve our every day lives. She holds a degree in math and economics from the University of York, England and an MBA from Stanford Business School.

In short, Nicole has a lot of expertise in entrepreneurship, and female entrepreneurship in particular. She encourages more females to believe in themselves and never give up their ideas. Here are her top 3 advices on how to become a successful female entrepreneur:

1. Never Settle Down – When Nicole meets new entrepreneurs one of the key things she evaluates is their motivation level, she expresses; “they have to believe anything is possible, and having the solutions to make these things done no matter how challenging it is.” She is looking for people who does not take “no” for an answer and who doesn’t settle down. As she explains; “if there is a WILL then there is a WAY!”, so it’s important to be stubborn. These are the type of entrepreneurs that will go far. A good example of this type of persons is one of her biggest role models: Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon. Nicole refers to him as someone who just gets things done, everything he touches turns into gold only because he is trying so hard. If it doesn’t work, he tries again and again and again. Mr Bezos doesn’t stop until he gets it done! Nicole wants more female entrepreneurs to do exactly that, to not give up because they hit the wall. No matter how difficult and challenging it is, you got to go through that wall. You owe it to yourself; to figure out were your idea can take you!

2. Diversity When Building Your Team – Men and women working together in a startup has a higher success rate than a group of men starting a business together. Nicole thinks that diversity is the key to success, in the perspective of difference of age, gender, background and religion. It’s important because it gives you different angles on your business idea, from brainstorming to problem solving. So have that in mind when you are building up your team for your startup!

3. Turn off Netflix – Most people who gets home from their daily job eat dinner and then turn on the TV and they watch Netflix through the end of the evening. If you are one of them, then you need to change that behavior. Instead, start going to networking events, read more about your specific industry and learn more about things that will take you further with your entrepreneurship journey. You can’t live like the other 99% of the population, you need to take action to get somewhere. The more you are educated, the more you know and the more you are going to know what step you need to take and in what direction.

To learn more about female entrepreneurship, listen to her discussion with Brian Mac Mahon in the third episode of Expert Dojo’s startup podcast “The Art of Startup War”;

https://soundcloud.com/artofstartupwar/the-art-of-startup-war-advice-from-super-angel-asher-leids

For more startup investment podcast episodes, please visit: 

Asher Leids is a prominent super angel based in Santa Monica and specialized in early stage startups. Previous to investing individually he practiced venture capital, securities, mergers and acquisitions and general corporate law. In short he is an expert in what he is doing and knows startup investment inside out.

A vital task for entrepreneurs who are in the process of finding an investor is to figure out if you are going to be a good fit for each other. You don’t want to take the money from just anybody, you want to take it from someone who is a great match for you. But how do you know if you are going to be a good fit for each other?

Mr. Leids suggest to look at the investor as if it’s someone you want to marry, like choosing a life partner. You don’t want to end up in a nasty divorce. For example, if you go for lunch with you investor and during lunch the investor yells at the waiter or waitress, then you can figure out that this person will act the same way to you at some point. And will you be okay with that?

You need to be aware of who you are choosing, but also make an effort yourself. If you are not asking the investor the questions that makes him or her comfortable with the relationship, then it’s not going to lead anywhere. Imagine if you are on a first date and you didn’t ask your date any questions about what they were like, what their habits were or other personal questions, and just asked how much money they were bringing in to the relationship. Then that person will enter the relationship with a very different perspective.

Besides showing interest, according to Mr. Leids one of the other main things you need to think about when meeting your potential investor is to show that you are passionate about what you are doing. Tell the investor how strongly you feel for your product or service, don’t start the subject about needing investment.

At the end, it’s not only about the expectations that you have from the investor. It’s also about the expectations that the investor has about you what you should want from them. If it’s just the money then you are going to have problem right at the beginning. To learn more about the relationship between entrepreneurs and investors, listen to Asher Leids episode of Expert Dojo’s podcast; “the Art of Startup War” here:

https://soundcloud.com/artofstartupwar/michaelmiller

For more startup podcast episodes, please visit: