What Would I Want to Know About a Potential Investor?
I'm less concerned about expertise than their ability to keep cool
I’d want to know how they’d react in a minor fender bender.
Would they lose it or remain calm?
Would they seek to problem solve or point blame?
When things go wrong—and they will—it doesn’t matter:
Who your investor knows
How many other companies they’ve successfully invested in
Or even how many dollars they want to back you with
What’s truly paramount are their character, personality, perspective, and unwavering faith in you as a founder.
The person who calmly handles a small collision is likely the same person who will support you through the unexpected challenges of building a business. If an inconvenience of life will derail them, they’re not for you.
It’s difficult in the current fundraising environment to think beyond the numbers and the connections, but doing so will ultimately serve you and your company better in the long run.