What investors are looking for in entrepreneurs?
Many investors and venture capitalists not once have shared that often their investment decisions are based not only on the potential of the startup, but on the potential of the entrepreneur as well. Winning funding for your startup can depend on the way you present yourself in front of the investors and on the way they see potential in you. Investing in people is the way to make successful and profitable decisions especially when the execution of the idea depends on the personal and professional traits and skill sets of the entrepreneurs and investors are aware of this fact.
So, what are investors looking for?
Talent
Discovering great talent which can be used in international scale for the improvement of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in general, is one of the main priorities of angel investors and venture capitalists. They are looking for bright and talented people who can turn their ideas into reality by putting their knowledge and vision into hard work. Investors like to look for capable entrepreneurs who have the ability to actually create something revolutionary. Even if the idea behind the startup is not that innovative, if the entrepreneur has potential and ability to create more, it is more likely their project to get funded. Investors invest in potential and highly promising people with valuable talents.
The right attitude
Investors look for ideas and people who can turn them into reality, but even the most talented entrepreneurs will not receive the right amount of investment if they have bad attitude and are not willing to be more flexible in their decisions based on the advisory of the angel investors and venture capitalists. Here we are not saying that you should mislay your main idea and forget about your vision. Just entrepreneurs, who are not open-minded, flexible and ready to hear different opinions, are not very attractive for the people who otherwise are ready to invest.
Confidence
Investors are ready to trust confident people who know what they want in their startup venture. Strong and honest people driven by vision and able to see the business world realistically are what investors need. Entrepreneurs need guidance and advisory, but nobody is willing to “babysit” the person they are investing in. Bing able to present the idea, the company and yourself with confidence is what can really win funding for your startup.
Skills
A vast list of personal and corporate skills which can help the growth of the company is essential for the decision of the investors. There are many skills which a person must possess in order to bring great value for their business. Personal skills like flexibility, creativity, communicative skills, leadership skills, listening and conversational skills are a must trait for successful entrepreneur. Corporate skills like management, HR skills, finance and accounting, social science knowledge, programming and computer science knowledge might be not required, but can bring good advantage for the entrepreneur.