Reach all 20,000+ investors by posting a funding request.

Post a Request
 

Entrepreneur

The different entrepreneur and startup business types

"What type of entrepreneur are you when it comes to raising capital?" Every entrepreneur falls somewhere along the capital raising continuum below. It all boils down to the amount of experience that you have working with investors. It's important to know which type of entrepreneur that you are so that you can take the proper approach with investors.

The first timer

With regard to raising capital, if you're the first timer entrepreneur, then you probably have no clue what you're doing. Don't feel bad! You've never raised capital before and there's no way that you'll know exactly what to do during every step of the way. You've probably never seen a "term sheet" before or even heard of one for that matter. Never fear, there are plenty of entrepreneurs on the Invstor.com that have been through the ropes and are willing to give you advice on what to do and what not to do when raising capital.

You may not want or even need to hear it, but the odds of being successful are stacked against "the first timer" for obvious reasons. Learn as much as you can along the journey, so that you can do it better next time. Don't fall into common traps. Knowing about "business" and knowing how to run a company that involves raising capital aren't necessarily the same thing. You'll have to prove that you have a solid business model and that you will be able to provide a handsome return for investors.

Experienced manager

Experienced managers have a lot of experience in the industry, but typically have no experience working with a startup. The startup world is an entirely different ball game and the fact that you're the CEO of a fortune 100 company won't be of much help. Your corporate experience may actually be a strike against you in the eyes of an investor. Don't tout your 20 plus years of upper management experience at GE. Instead, you'll want to prove to investors that you can work effectively with extremely limited resources and a very small team.

The serial entrepreneur

This person has done it before, successfully or otherwise. If you screwed up the last one, don't harp on it. These people fail more often than not, but always roll with the punches and get back behind the wheel. Be mindful of your mistakes, but quickly move on. Investors will be happy to know that you are experienced in the startup environment. Be sure to stress this experience, especially if you've had success in the past.