Do's and Don'ts of Raising Capital

According to San Francisco entrepreneur and startup advisor Alan Safahi, the process of raising capital for your startup can be somewhat intimidating. Especially if it's your first time doing it. However, to achieve what you want you must learn, strive and fight until you accomplish your goals.

To give you a little help in the phase of getting investors for your company, we will share some tips. On the one hand, we will be detailing the things you must do; and on the other hand, we will be telling you what you should avoid at all costs when searching for investors.

What you must do to raise capital

San Francisco advisor and Alan Safahi, who is a 6X startup founder with vast experience in fundraising in Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, and Toronto shares his experience indicating what you should do:

You must prepare properly

Raising funds for your business require primarily mental preparation. It is very important that you be realistic and set expectations within what is objectively possible.

You must also be prepared for rejection, and to take this as a learning opportunity rather than defeat. The right investors for sure will see the potential of your venture, so don't despair.

Focus on generating traction

Something that attracts investors is the popularity that you have gained in the market with your product or service prototype. So it's a good idea to focus part of your effort on building a potential customer base from the start.

This can show investors the potential your company has, and all that you can achieve with the appropriate capital.

Lean on good advisors

Having the support and guidance of a good advisor are of great advantage for you. Look for professionals who believe in your endeavor, and stay in touch with them whenever possible.

Great advisors can provide you with unrivaled business guidance, and invaluable guidance on how to approach investors.

Define a good profile on financing platforms

When registering your profile in the different financing platforms, you must define your profile completely and perfectly.

Remember that investors will not only see your business proposal, they will also see who they will partner with.

Make sure to record all your experience, you should even record other ventures that have not been successful. All experience is valid.

What to avoid while raising capital

Alan Safahi, Founder and Principal at Safahi Global Advisors, details the things to avoid during the capital raising process.

Don't raise more money than you really need

You may want to take the opportunity to raise a little more money, as financial insurance. But you should never abuse this.

You can get a little more capital to fix the situation, in case something doesn't go according to plan, but you shouldn't go overboard in this regard. Ultimately, your success depends on what you do with the money you have, and not how much money you have.

Don’t Talk to the wrong investors for your project

Don't waste your time with investors who are not used to investing in projects like yours, or in companies that are in the phase, you are in.

If they do not know the area, you will have to spend a lot of time explaining the details. That time you can invest in something more beneficial for you.

Don’t Meet with investors who have invested in the competition

Another thing you should avoid is talking about or presenting your project to investors who have invested in a company similar to yours. It doesn't make any sense for you to talk to the people who have funded your competition.

You must avoid any type of conflict of interest.

Don't stop studying investors before meeting with them

Before meeting with any investor, you should have studied them. You should know if this is the type of investor who is interested in companies like yours, and if he or she has experience in your area of development.

If possible, talk to other entrepreneurs who have received capital from these investors to find out what it is like to work with them.

Originally Posted: https://vocal.media/journal/do-s-and-don-ts-of-raising-capital

Key Characteristics Every Entrepreneur should have

Having an idea and plan is not quite enough to see you through the business's whole process. Success as an Entrepreneur is not just about the concept and how much money is poured into the venture. To be a successful entrepreneur, you have these essential characteristics, according to Alan Safahi, a Fintech CEO.

An entrepreneur refers to a person who undertakes the process of opening and managing a business, usually someone who has the ability to manage the risk inherent in the aforementioned process, as well as managing the venture, having a long term goal, and most importantly, staying profit-oriented. However, the fact remains that not all entrepreneurs are successful. While we see some success, we have also seen some entrepreneurs start well but, unfortunately, not end well. Why do you think we have this? You might even see certain entrepreneurs who have a great concept and a solid launch but in the end the company folds. Some might ask themselves, what happens along the way? Could it be that this entrepreneur lacks specific characteristics of entrepreneurship that produce a successful venture? Let's talk about these traits that every successful entrepreneur should possess (In our opinion).

Key characteristics of an Entrepreneur

● Ability to Take Risk: The first characteristic perceived by Alan Safahi is the Entrepreneur's ability to be a risk-taker. An Entrepreneur has to understand that risk is part of a business, which can either come with failure or success. Playing it safe never leads to winning in a company. Therefore, the courage and capacity to take risks are essential for entrepreneurs.

● Teamwork: The best business operates as a team where each member of an organization is saddled with responsibility and everyone has the mindset of focusing solely on the business's future. This doesn’t just happen by chance. A good entrepreneur shares responsibility within the team and gives them room to operate in whatever role that they have been assigned. In addition to this, the business's goal must be set so that every team works towards achieving it.

● Vision: Alan Safahi explained that every entrepreneur must be a visionary. He must be able to recognize how the business started, where the business is, and where he/she envisions the company being in the long run. Without this, forget about a successful venture. He or she would only be working aimlessly without having a direction and without reaching any point of success.

● Leadership: As important as a vision is, it takes a leader to transform the former into reality. Without a proper leader, there won't be an assigned role to the employee, resulting in everyone working aimlessly, independently, and without a direction. A leader needs to inspire his/her employees towards achieving a common goal and be able to motivate them anytime they are down.

● Creativity: One of the critical characteristics of entrepreneurs is the ability to be creative. An Entrepreneur must be able to do things differently without depending on the majority's standard approach.

● Passion driven: Every business starts with a spark of an idea. Having a passion for a startup gives you the drive to turn your vision into reality. You must have the necessary motivation to keep the business going, even if there are ups and downs in the venture. The passion of the entrepreneur drives the business going, and is often the soul of the company

Conclusion

Think about how you can develop yourself and become an exceptional entrepreneur even as you consider the following critical characteristics provided by Alan Safahi. Always try your best to network with others, and to recognize the different partnership opportunities available at any given time. 

Originally Posted: https://vocal.media/journal/key-characteristics-every-entrepreneur-should-have