Personally, when it comes to investing, I'd rather be a contrarian. Out of these 40 to 50 investments, most will not fly unless they get acquired. "Hope we get bought, fingers crossed" is not a business model. It only works if you invest across a broad section and one of them hits big (which Ron is doing).
I'd rather invest in 40 to 50 simple cash-producing businesses on the web (affiliate networks, lead generation, sticky / viral apps in closed platforms, etc.)
If I am an expert in my field planning to volunteer or stake the next five years of my career on a slightly crazy idea, I could do worse than attach myself to a project headed by someone who already has their foot in the door with a lot of people who can get us financing or legislative help.
And don't most investors want some solidarity with their fellow investors? Brand recognition is a built-in safety feature that might help protect my money.
You shouldn't ever invest in a company you know nothing about. If you're investing in the stock market you should do you research into the company before buying in.
I can't see how that's a bad thing in this context. The investor is fully aware that you'll take risks with his money - he's hoping that one of these risks will pay off hugely, if not with you then with some other startup he's invested in.
I generally don't design or build with outside investment in mind. Given how I've seen how bad investors make good teams crumble in short periods of time. But, I would actually consider working with people who see value in me and my team, rather than only focus on the bottom line. May you mention other investors who share this same attitude?
Yes, I did. But that does not mean they will invest in startups which they believe will bring negative returns or that don't otherwise suit their portfolio.
But now I just calculate my expected return based on a 10% chance of a buyout for $100M or so (cockily I'm assuming I can screen the obvious losers out with common sense alone though that is of course debatable) and if it's not a net uptick from the current gig, I pass on it. And up to now, I've always passed on it, and none of them succeeded.
Other than that, the only startups I'm interested in are ones where I have one of those nifty 3 letter titles and 5% of the company in my pocket.
If you are the only investor in your thing, then is a warning sign to everyone else. You never sold anyone else on the vision, so either the idea is suspect or the investor is a not trustworthy (or capable). Having other investors mitigates those objections.
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