Build on relationships, work for your return

Most of the time when an investor goes through the 200-page business plan, the exaggerated resumes of the management team and a feasibility study, the core question they will have is: “Do I believe in this CEO?”
Do I believe in the vision behind the concept? Is there a connection here? Is there investment chemistry?
It is not so easy to find a good match between and investor and an entrepreneur.
A person who is slightly desperate and single in Zimbabwe, with no potential prospects on the horizon often says: “There is no one who measures up to my standard.”
Strangely both guys and girls say the same thing, it is just the pitch of voice that differs.
There is a big disconnection going on here. Either someone thinks they are Denzel Washington when really they are a nobody, or they are just not looking in the right place.
I agree, that the worst thing you can do is settle for second best, but you are not going to get a capital injection of US$2 million when there is just a concept on the table and you still want to retain 70 percent of your company.
It is highly unlikely. Look where you are at, set a boundary of how much you want to give away and then put it in writing and be willing to negotiate around a piece of cake.
Most investors have high expectations of return and dream of putting capital behind a project or concept that they have seen working in another economy.
There are investors who wave their fund figures around while hearing your idea, only to tell entrepreneurs that things are too risky in Zimbabwe.
Well they should leave and stop reminding young entrepreneurs that there are crooks, and economic challenges.
We already know this. Angel investors in Zimbabwe cannot expect Third World returns in a First World way.
Many young entrepreneurs dream of getting that quick capital injection. There is an idea out there that cash injection will settle all the issues.
It will actually pile them on. No investor has excess cash that they want to waste, and they won’t waste it on you.
Before, when you had a humble, little cash flow with a limited amount of stock the only people you had to answer to were your wife and your accountant.
Now you have got people breathing down your neck eager to see you perform so that their investment does exactly what you said it could do.
It is all good and well to pitch an idea with great looking figures. It’s another thing to make the figures turn into dollars.
I know this very well because I have been in this situation before. You want to get the investors who will help you with your model, and expansion.
Build organically as far as you can, and then get an investor who will contribute.
The trick behind courtship boils down to understanding how the girl thinks, and how the guy thinks. How the investor thinks and what the entrepreneur is thinking.
Do you believe in yourself?
I am not talking about a fictitious pseudo-belief where in public your tie is straight and your walk is strong.
I am talking about when you are alone and you are in your pyjamas looking in the mirror at your character.
When it comes down to it you are the linchpin in the business. It all falls and rises with you. The economy may be unstable but at then end of the day you have to make it work.
Investors can see through the “Bull Pile” you present to them right to your true belief in yourself.
Angel investors in Third World nations often have to hold the hands of entrepreneurs to ensure they get a return on their investment.
I have invested in great minds, high-degreed individuals only to get a bitter partner who still has not dealt with all their racial issues.
I cannot win there. I have also invested in uneducated young and character-filled youngsters who have given me the greatest joy and return for my company.
Investor or entrepreneur. Don’t say that things are slow, and there is nothing out there.
At the same time don’t rush into investment relationships based on pure clout and raw looks.
Build on relationships and be willing to work for your return.