Dear Entrepreneur, You’re the Product!

Yes, the best time to audition for a job is when there is no job. And the best time for an entrepreneur to raise money is when he/she is not actively raising money. What you did ten years ago can prevent your classmate or co-worker or uncle or anyone, who may have money to spare, to invest in you.

It comes down to integrity, trust and tenacity; I call this ITT Capital, and it is not built in a day or during fundraising. Rather, these are things which are demonstrated over years in transactional forms in dorms, canteens, etc. Can your classmate give you money? Can your colleague at work do the same? Can your auntie invest in your business? If you think they have the resources but refuse, it is possible your ITT Capital is poor before them.

Investing life is made up of two phases – the transactional and relational. The ITT Capital takes care of the transactional part. If you do well therein, you will unlock the relational component which opens opportunity for investment and ideally a long-term relationship with your investor.

And in that relationship, you must keep answering: Who comes first in a moment of truth? The person who gave you money or you? That woman or man or company which believed in you to give money should at all times come before you. If you have that understanding, you will win the future.

Get it from me. People can only give you money if they respect you. An investor can only invest in YOU if they feel they can work with you. Forget your idea or whatever you think you’re building, the real product and company is YOU. If they do not like YOU – the product – they will not buy those shares (yes, invest in your company). To build a great company, you must first build YOU (i.e. yourself) for investors to have confidence to support your journey.

You Are The Product, Win That Future

Connect via my LinkedIn | Facebook | X | TikTok | Instagram | YouTube