Why you don't need an investor, and investors don't need you.

[parkerscott]

A common question people ask is "where can I find an investor?" First off if you need an investor, chances are you don't have the capital. If you do have the capital, and you still need an investor, but want to mitigate your risks then you don't fully believe in your idea. If its the later you are already one step above the rest.

Back to the discussion. Why don't you need an investor? Most of the time the people who ask where they can find one lack a whole bunch of qualities. Most, not all. They can't do the research for themselves. If you need someone to invest in you ask around. An investor can be a friend of a friend or a family member etc. If that doesn't work you can find the phone number or email of almost anyone in the world. You can get a hold of anyone you wan't. Some people have gatekeepers, but even gate keepers let people through.

Lets say they are finally able to get to the investor, and somehow manage to set up a time for lunch. Great. They may just become unprepared. When an investor asks what have they done, and what skillset and qualities they have they won't bring much to the table. When they present their idea, which is only just an idea they haven't already poked as many holes in it as they can, and it shows when the investor starts listening, and asking questions. They will sometimes even overlook everything, and they wont be able to tell the investor what they have to offer. They will also ask for crazy valuations when they haven't even made their first dollar or prepared a solid business plan or done any prototyping or really anything.

That is why most of the time you don't need an investor. You better be ready, and prepared if you use someone elses money, and their most important commodity which is time.

Now why doesn't an investor need you? I have personally dealt with a few people I had faith in, that I wanted to invest in. They were all talk, and no game. They were able to make a lot of noise, and it sounded like they had a ton of passion. When it comes down to it though they are just like everyone else. They want someone to hold their hand and, they want everything given to them. Even after they have someone hold their hand, and give them what they need they still don't do anything with it.

I once found a 24 year old man who was full of passion, and talked the big talk. He had dreams of running his own business, and said it would do whatever it took. I took notice, and I told him I would invest my time, and money. I told him I would hold his hand in areas where he needed it, and I had a clear plan in place for his vision that was even better than his own. He was on fire, and was so excited. I gave him the simple task of answering 20 questions on a sheet of paper. Half of which were yes, and no questions. The other half were open ended, and he was allowed to keep the responses short if he so chose. I told him there were no right or wrong answers, and I wanted to just get an idea of his mindset, and plan.

What happened to that paper you ask? He never filled it out, and most likely threw it in the trash. If he lost it he never asked for a new one. I invested my own time to personally write the questions out for him, and emotionally invested myself in him, and at the end of the day there was no reciprocity.

So why doesn't an investor need you? He can offer you his money, his time, and offer you a whole lot more than you can bring to the table. What do you have to give him in return?

If you can manage to take this information, and use it accordingly or already know this information, congratulations. You are already the 1%

 

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