The Entrepreneurs seek funding for their businesses

investor
On the new streaming show Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch, founders step into the Entrepreneur Elevator and have just 60 seconds to present their idea, product or business to a panel of investors. Whether an entrepreneur gets invited into the boardroom or sent back to the bottom floor depends on what our experts think therein first minute. Here, we break down the teachings aspiring business owners can deduct from each episode's pitches.

There are many reasons entrepreneurs seek funding for his or her businesses. they'll be able to build up manufacturing and lack the resources to try to to so. they'll need the capital to take a position in getting the word out about the new product they've developed. Often, they simply need access to the various valuable resources investors have at their disposal.

For many business founders, though, investors bring a much more important asset to a startup. Most investors are experienced professionals who can bring experience and insight to a specific business. within the sixth episode of Entrepreneur's new streaming series Elevator Pitch, we meet a gaggle of founders who were desperately in need of this sort of expert guidance. Here are three important lessons entrepreneurs can deduct from the episode.

Investors are consultants.

First up within the episode were Jared and Karina Rabin, the husband and wife team behind Hang-O-Matic, a well-liked picture-hanging tool. initially these two drew "bait and switch" concerns. They spent most of their pitch talking about their already-successful product, then suddenly revealed they wanted investment during a newer tool. Know that in these situations investors will usually need a piece of the first , successful product before considering anything . They'll probably send you packing otherwise.

So, the investors agreed to let the Rabins up to the boardroom, but if the investment wasn't specific to the first tool, they weren't interested. After all, the couple already made clear that they had quite enough in earnings to fund their planned new product.

Fortunately Jared and Karina revealed quickly their primary interest was find a business partner who could advise them as they moved their company forward. meaning they were just fine with investors taking a stake within the original product, not just the newer one. The investors were immediately interested, agreeing to function a team of consultants in exchange for equity within the company. This was an ideal fit the couple, who were exhausted after years of working nights and weekends to create their company. The success of this pitch clearly shows that investors are often highly valuable advisors to their portfolio businesses. Be hospitable the thought that this might be just the connection you would like also .

Dawn Maslar, author of the book Men Chase, Women Choose, approached the panel with a product called a Devotion Test. After sampling a man's saliva, she said, the test can detect whether a person is committed to the lady he's currently with. The panel was feeling a touch unsure about Maslar's product but they were curious enough to ask her into the boardroom anyway to listen to more.

Once inside the boardroom, Maslar did not convert the investors. Their biggest objection was they simply weren't convinced there's actual customer demand for her test. With a sales history or proven marketing research , she may are ready to debate this objection. She did not have that though. All she actually had her own opinion. The investors' decision to cop out demonstrated the importance of getting market data in situ before approaching investors.

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