Fortune favors the prepared founder

We'll start with a phrase recently read on an article on Forbes 'fortune favors the prepared founder'

As a founder seeking funding or rather an investor for your venture, you will need to be prepared. We do not need to tell you that you need to be passionate about your venture. We do not need to tell you that you need to have complete visibility of your company operations. You probably already know all that. However, should you have fallen off the bandwagon, this can serve as a reminder. (Even amidst this Covid-19 crisis, which by the way we'll overcome. Just stay safe. Wash your hands. Avoid your face)

As a founder, you'll need to;

1. Align with your co-founder(s), if you have one- Before making the decision to seek an investment, it goes without saying that you and your co-founder(s) need to be aligned on a number of matters spanning from how much you are seeking for (popularly known as your ask), the type of investor you are seeking (we spoke about investors here), your exit strategy, just to name a few.

2. Have a strong team.

(i) A team that knows their craft.

(ii) A team that is well covered in terms of skill. Not to say that prior to seeking an investment you should have a full house, nope. As a matter of fact, some of these skills can be leveraged from your investors and their teams, or the type of support they'll provide to you. Basically, what you agree upon. However, you may have to really build your case on why you need technical support.

(iii) A team that believes in their business. How can you sell a business that you/your team doubt?

This was part 1 of the 'investor-ready' series. We hope this short article was of some help to you.

Does preparedness really trump passion? Find out what these researchers think.