5 tips on how to attract investor funding, according to successful entrepreneurs
Most entrepreneurs can agree that raising funds from investors can be the hardest part of their job. There are, however, certain things entrepreneurs can do to secure the lifeblood of their venture.
Ten entrepreneurs shared with CNBC how they managed to raise funding for their startup.
1. Don’t be desperate
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The best way to raise money is when you don’t need money, according to Olivier Gerhardt, co-founder of Wavecell, a could communications platform, said. “You shouldn’t be desperate,” he said. “The key is that you have a vision, the right team, right product and a customer base.”
2. Have a good story to tell
Mada Seghete, co-founder of Branch, a mobile solutions platform in Silicon Valley, believes that a good story is more important than numbers or anything else. “Get them to actually believe in your vision,” Seghete noted. “Tell them the story of how you’re going to get there and actually convince them that you’re the only person that can execute on that vision.”
3. Prove you’ve got the customer base and potential revenue
“You need to provide the track of new customers and revenue,” Sergey Vozchikov, director of Copernicus Gold Singapore, a blockchain platform that allows users to buy and sell gold, declared. “You need to provide proof of concept — maybe three or six months, whatever it is.”
4. Show investors the numbers
Although Seghete believes telling a story is more important than actual data, CC Chang from FunNow, a leisure and entertainment app, disagrees. “They only believe in numbers, otherwise you will find Angels, who believe in a dream,” Chang affirmed. “But investors, they believe in numbers.”
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5. Prove your problem-solving skills
Always make sure your product is something that the market needs. “If you’re solving a problem for anyone at all, for a big market at all, then an investor is just around the corner,” Dominick Danao, Magpie.IM, which allows companies in Southeast Asia to accept mobile payments, revealed.
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