Tag: fundraising mistakes

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Finance Startup

5 Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Should Avoid When Raising Funds

5 Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Should Avoid When Raising Funds
5 Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Should Avoid When Raising Funds

Summary: A startup`s fundraising efforts depend on its ability to make itself and its business ideas appealing.  Here are five common mistakes every entrepreneur must avoid.

According to a report by IBM Institute for Business Value & Oxford Economics, over 90% of Indian startups fail miserably within 5 years of inception.

Starting a business is a pricey process. From hosting a website to hiring the right people, everything can quickly add up to the cost of the company. So unless you are independently wealthy or able to monetize right away, you will need large funds to foot the bills.

However, it does not mean that you should start rushing to people and start asking them for money to raise funds for your startup business. Before you think about raising funds, stop and consider the best way to raise money sustainably for your business. You can also hire a business coach to help you raise funds.

To ensure that your startup runs smoothly, we have listed out a list of fundraising mistakes that every entrepreneur must avoid:

1. Raising Capital too Early

When you have invested your own money in your business, you can stop the project anytime. But once you borrow money from investors, you will feel intensified pressure to make your business a huge success. You will have to give away a lot of equity in your company if you go this route. Hence, try to bootstrap your business and try to use existing resources to avoid the extra pressure.

2. Not Seeking Professional Advice

Entrepreneurs are often independent and self-sufficient. Hence, they often try to overcome any obstacle on their come that comes their way. While this conquering spirit is part of what makes entrepreneurs great, it can also be a fault. When raising funds for your startup, it’s critically important to seek the advice of professionals to better understand your funding needs and requirements. Consulting a business coach with real valuation experience can help you save your time and money on the wrong decisions down the road.

3. Not Raising Enough Funds

Some entrepreneurs ask for less funding than they require. It is the biggest fundraising mistake that can lead to the shutdown of the startup. Always ask for the amount by keeping your financial requirement as realistic as possible. Don`t worry about scaring investors by asking for the amount of money you will require for your business. To know step by step process of fund raising, watch here:

4. Lack of Clear Objectives

Having a clear goal in mind is essential to raise capital investment. Figuring out how much money you need to reach your next milestone is essential. From operational costs to essential professional services, determine how much capital you need. Not having a clear idea is another mistake that every entrepreneur must avoid.

5. Giving up too Much of the Company

One of the worst fundraising mistakes that entrepreneurs can make is giving up too much ownership of the company. While a deal that includes a good portion of your company might seem appealing, you could end up paying a much higher cost down the road.

Try to keep ownership within the company. Find out ways to raise or access funds which are more feasible.

Also, don’t forget to build and create relationships as you may come across people who can help you with investment. If you don’t know where to begin, start by making a list of businesses that intrigue you. You can use tools such as AngelList and Crunchbase to get a sense of the investors behind each project. You can also hire a business coach who can help you with networking.

These mistakes might appear small, however, if you want to successfully run your business, avoid falling into the trap of repeating these costly mistakes. Want to know the fundamental rules of fundraising?

Take our ‘Problem Solving Courses’ and gain in-depth knowledge about raising funds. To know more, visit: https://www.badabusiness.com/psc

Categories
Business motivation

How To Avoid 3 Common Fundraising Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make That Can Sink A Business!

How To Avoid 3 Common Fundraising Mistakes
How To Avoid 3 Common Fundraising Mistakes

Starting a startup might seem all exciting and there could be times that everything falls into its respective place. You think about starting a business and the customers come knocking at your door since day one.

You raise funds easily and your first pitch to your investors is a rip-roaring success. Everything goes according to the script, even if you didn’t think too much about it. But what happens when you couldn’t able to generate investment for the second round? What happens when things go wrong?

Watch everything that you need to know about Fundraising in this video:

The problem with effortless success is that it does not prepare you for the worst. Some so many entrepreneurs tasted early success in their entrepreneurial journey, but things got a little tricky when additional capital was required. Their numbers were bad and their business looked like a nightmare which put the investors off-board.

So what are those BIGGEST mistakes of fundraising that every entrepreneur must avoid? Here is a list:

1. Catastrophic Mistakes

There are plenty of crucial decisions to be made over the first few raises. Entrepreneurs must decide how to pick the right investor for their business, whether they should try crowdfunding, and how to evaluate their business. The important steps can help to take the business to successful heights. But these are the areas where people can make catastrophic mistakes.

How to avoid it?

The starting point is the exit! What many people don`t realize is that taking investments puts you on a path to exit. Every investor wants to get off in 6-10 years with a return. So looking at the stages to exit is the place from where entrepreneurs should think further than expected. Also, one can take professional help from the best business coach in India.

2. The Correct Numbers

Focusing on numbers is one of the most essential things if you want to ensure that your business sustains in the long run. Many start-up businesses fail to thrive ahead because the founders couldn’t raise a second tranche of money. Numbers are critical even at the pre-revenue stage and therefore it is vital to work on the financial plan. Most founders overestimate the cost and the period it will take to hit targets.

How to practice it in the real world?

So understanding the biggest gap that exists in the business models is between what is being projected and the actual cost bases is very important. Investors typically look for businesses that can understand their cohort financial analysis, customer acquisition drivers, and churn rates. Hence, an in-depth understanding of unit economics and how it can be improved can help any business to sustain itself for a longer time. However, hiring a business coach too can help you navigate the challenges of fundraising.

3. Unpicking Experience

To err is human. And one of the best qualities that humans are bestowed with is their ability to learn from them. But is the fact that someone has made mistakes and learned a valuable lesson from them is necessarily a reason to trust their judgment? Well, certainly not!

Unless humans make mistakes, their learning will never start. However, it is not advisable to carry the burden of past mistakes over their shoulders. Many entrepreneurs carry the weight of their past business mistakes to their present and future. But dwelling on past mistakes results in nothing more than unhelpful introspection.

How to avoid it?

Learning from past mistakes is something that every successful business leader must do. Also, if you take help from a business coach he or she can probably help you to learn from their professional mistakes which is probably every essential.

Fundraising is certainly not easy! Even if you find investors in the first round easily that does not guarantee for the next investment rounds to be that smooth. Hence, only by understanding both the thinking of investors and the pitfalls that may lie ahead, businesses can be better equipped to obtain the funding they need. And taking the professional expertise of a business coach can demystify the investment landscape for entrepreneurs.

To know more about fundraising and investment strategies, take our ‘Entrepreneurship Course’ which is a specialized online business course tailor-made for those who want to pursue their entrepreneurial goals!

Categories
Startup

4 Fund-Raising Mistakes Every Entrepreneur Should Avoid

fundraising

Like it or not, the entrepreneurial journey is not always easy. It also includes the not-so-pleasant step of fundraising. The reason why the journey is not so enjoyable is that it often takes months, if not longer. It also requires you to have resources that you may require to establish your startup company.

Fundraising for a startup is an involved process. There are no set rules or a manual to help you develop a startup funding plan. Every startup begins with a unique idea, vision, and promises that they make to their customers.

According to a report by IBM Institute for Business Value & Oxford Economics, over 90% of the Indian startups fail miserably within 5 years of inception. However, not much research is conducted to show the exact reason behind the failure of the startup.

A startup`s fundraising efforts depend on its ability to make itself and its business ideas appealing. Because it`s not the customer`s, but an investor`s perspective that is crucial.

Though the reason behind the failure varies, the pattern and the list of reasons seem to be repetitive.

To ensure that your startup runs smoothly, we have listed out a list of fundraising mistakes that every entrepreneur must avoid:

  1. Raising too Many Funds

Many startups make the mistake of raising too much money. Initially, they think they need as much money as they can get, but forget that this increases the liability, as well as the equity they will have to give up.

While a nice cushion of startup capital provides a comfortable start, too much money in the system can result in disaster. The expenses at the later stage will be too much, and you might have to go through firing staff, budget cuts, and closing office spaces.

  1. Not Raising Enough Funds

Some entrepreneurs ask for less funding than they require. It is the biggest fundraising mistake that can lead to the shutdown of the startup. Always ask for the amount by keeping your financial requirement as much realistic as possible. Don`t worry about scaring investors by asking for the amount of money you will require for your business.

  1. No Clear Funding Objectives

Having a clear goal in mind is essential to raise capital investment. Figuring out how much money you need to reach your next milestone is essential. From operational costs to essential professional services, determine how much capital you need. Not having a clear idea is another mistake that every entrepreneur must avoid.

  1. Giving up too Much of the Company

One of the worst fundraising mistakes that someone can make is giving up too much ownership in the company. While a deal that includes a good portion of your company might seem appealing, you could end up paying a much higher cost down the road.

Try to keep ownership within the company. Find out other ways to raise or access funds in any other way which is more feasible.