What characteristics should you look for when choosing investors? Paul Quintero, CEO of Accion East, shares his advice on making wise decisions.
Video Transcript
Investors are like a relationship or like a marriage. I would say choose wisely. There are different things that investors bring. I think the first thing you have to have is there has to be some fundamental trust in relationship with whoever it is that’s going to be part of your venture because you’re going to need to know that you’re investors will work with you, not just in the good times, which is the easy time, but when you’re really trying to get things going which is the harder times. And, and that’s not something that, um, many people often do. So I would say look at the person not just the dollars or the money. The second thing is, when thinking about investors think about what they provide beyond money. Some investors, if all they’re providing is capital, have very limited benefits to you. Others bring networks, maybe related experiences, maybe other relationships with other businesses you could work with, so I would look to see what other, um, value they can provide you in an advisory way beyond the money because the money is very simple, but when the business starts to take off that’s when you’re really going to need the help and it could be their networks or their own experiences in your industry. So I would say between those two things. Make sure it’s someone you trust and 2) look at what they can provide beyond money because money is green for everyone, but what else do you provide in addition? And if you use those two lens I think you’ll get to the right place.
