7 видов инвесторов и как их привлечь
Конспект материала Medium о типах инвесторов и о путях их привлечения.
В то время как некоторые счастливые владельцы бизнеса могут самостоятельно начать свой собственный бизнес с небольшим или никаким внешним вкладом, большинству предприятий потребуется небольшая финансовая помощь от инвесторов на этом пути. Вы встретите много разных типов инвесторов для стартапов, так что вот несколько, на что нужно обратить внимание, некоторые, которых нужно избегать, и как вы можете их выиграть.
1. Нетехнический инвестор
Этот тип инвесторов могут не полностью понять технологию, лежащую в основе вашей идеи, но у вас будет много возможностей рассказать о вашей продуктовой, рыночной и бизнес-модели. Они сформируют свои собственные мнения и предположения, основанные на их опыте, с которым вы можете или не согласны. Попытайтесь отвести разговор от этих предположений, вместо этого говорите факты и убедитесь, что ваше ценностное предложение четко передано. Часто бывает много вопросов в конце большинства шагов, но старайтесь поощрять вопросы во время презентации. Таким образом, ваша аудитория не заблудится на ранней стадии, и вы можете прояснить то, что они не понимают, чтобы они могли следить за остальной частью вашей презентации. Кроме того, попробуйте рассмотреть различные способы передачи вашей идеи. Для некоторых это будет то, что вы говорите, что имеет наибольшее влияние, для других это будут визуальные эффекты и графики на слайдах, которые помогут им понять - физический прототип будет очень эффективным способом обеспечения вашей идеи не утрачено при переводе.
2. The Skint Investor
Maybe their pockets were turned out by a startup that didn’t quite work (see Unicorn Shit). Or they’ve ploughed further investment into a rising star. Either way, not all investors will have cash money on tap. They will, however, want to see what’s around the corner in a rapidly changing World even if it’s just to appear active in the market in front of their peers. Keep them on side and use your pitch to them as practice. Remember most investors mingle with other investors so word will spread. Just be aware that they have no intention of investing money in you right now so avoid wasting too much time with these types of investors as it can become a drain on your precious time.
3. The Detail Investor
These types of investors want to know every tiny detail about your business, even details explaining exactly what your business will look like five years down the line. Of course, investors want to see a five-year forecast, and they expect this to look realistic. But you can’t see into the future and have all the details, so explain how you plan to get there but try to stay away from the tiny little details. You can’t be certain about where your business will be in 5 years’ time because as a startup you’ll face many challenges and turning points, it’s how you will learn and grow. Showing that you understand this should show you know what you’re up against and you’re happy to adapt in order to succeed.
4. The Sheep Investor
These investors are worth maintaining a good relationship with. They can give you some great feedback and advice that could potentially really help you, the only problem is before they consider investing in your startup, they want other types of investors to invest in you first. It’s worth finding out about what they’re unsure of, any doubts they might have, and whether or not you could smooth them over. You may want to start by finding additional types of investors for startups, whilst keeping a strong relationship with these investors, as they might become useful to you once you have your first few Angels on board.
5. The Helpful Investor
If you come across a helpful investor you’ve struck gold! They want you to succeed and for this reason, they are extremely helpful. However, before investing they will typically want to see more traction from your business, which is great! If someone with experience in your market has found a slight flaw in your business during these early stages, you can fix it and prevent wasting money launching an inferior product. Maintain a good relationship with this type of investor and listen to their advice to help grow your startup.
6. The Greedy Investor
Not all investors agree with the first valuation that’s brought to the table, and they might ask for more equity than you first proposed. There’s nothing wrong with negotiating but take your time before signing any deals and ask them to explain how they reached their valuation. Then you can address any flaws or issues they might have with your business plan. It might be worth looking a bit closer at your value proposition and seeing if there are any changes you can make which will help you gain a higher valuation before fundraising. It would be wise to seek some outside advice to help you prepare and defend your offer to these types of investors. Don’t go with the first investor you find, keep your options open, go to meetings and see what other investors are prepared to offer you.
7. The Doubtful Investor
These investors might show interest in your business, but doubt you as a founder, which can understandably feel pretty personal. Rise above their perceptions and rather than getting angry, find out if there are any reasonable concerns they have and try to implement some changes that may reduce these concerns. If their doubts are unfathomable, don’t take it personally and think yourself lucky you didn’t go into business together. Carry on looking for an alternative, more suitable type of investor.
Investors meet their fair share of startups and only invest in a few, so don’t feel too despondent if you get turned down. The most important thing to take away from pitching to the many different types of investors is their feedback and advice. Learn from this experience and use it to strengthen your story and pitch. The more you put yourself out there, the better the chance you give yourself to succeed and find investors that align with your business and give you that elusive yes.