I recently attended a fascinating panel discussion organised by Centuro Global.
The panel was made up of angel investors and serial entrepreneurs:
Peter Cowley – Who founded 14 businesses in technology and construction
Tuba Terekli – Who founded the 1st accelerator program in Saudi & the Saudi Fast Growth list.
Nicholas Russell – A serial entrepreneur from Silicon Valley
Joshua Romisher, CFA – A serial entrepreneur and former US banker.
They discussed what they would look for when approached for funds and what impresses investors.
The key traits they seek in start-ups and in the founders are:
Trust – Integrity – Grit – Adaptability.
Also apart from an impressive business model, if you can show you can weather a storm and have suffered setbacks or, as Samuel Beckett put it, ‘Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.
The key for me was a comment Nicholas made, ‘remember when your pitching for financial support you are in fact in a selling situation and the first thing your selling is yourself. You are the product
| Topics covered included : – The investor perspective over the last 3 months – What investors look for in entrepreneurs How to approach investors, amongst a host of other valuable themes In case you missed it or would like to re-watch, you can view the recording here. |
