Is there a perfect profile for an Entrepreneur?
Ok, so long time lurker here.
I am 25 yo about to start a MIM degree in September. I have some previous entrepreneurial experience but in south Europe in an non sexy industry (think non-tech and very niche market) so VC funding was not for me. However the business is doing good in that market with more than 10% growth in the past 5 years.
Now I was thinking that I want to give another go to entrepreneurship but this time my idea is in tech (think something related to crowd funding-sourcing) and actually target some VC funding.
What I wanted to ask you guys is simple. Would it be better for my chances in VC to actually get some pedigree (ie working in IB or Consulting) before trying to approach the investors ?
Give it a go now or endure 1-2 years in a "prestigious" working environment so I get "certified"?
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Thank you for the answer,
I've seen that too(about stupid ideas getting funded) . But being familiar with how money are given in Greece I assumed that these were companies with the "right" connections.
On the other hand, (assuming that you are familiar with the greek business climate) I'm not sure that founding a business there is the right spot. Fewer connections, less exposure, a lot of taxes. That's why I want o know if getting money in the rest of the Europe (Berlin, London, Paris, Milan) is going to be easier if you have people who are somehow familiar faces or familiar CVs
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Stuff that I learnt during my entrepreneurial journey:-
1.) Pedigree matters - companies worked, school, everything 2.) Connections matter - not who your connections are, but rather, whether your startup is connected to key people overall. Best seek a top notch board of key advisors before seeking funding. 3.) Investors are abound and aplenty. Just need to grind till you gain them. Also, VCs (especially in Europe) will often try to lowball you, so you might want to consider nontraditional investors, especially in the current cash aplenty climate. 4.) Nontraditional Investors in Western Europe will look down upon you simply because you're Greek.
how many years of work experience did you have under your belt before you jumped in?
Zero. We were kids when we started it out. We were laughed out of a bunch of VC meetings because our team was weak. Luckily, we were able to build our network through the Board of Advisors we had created - and once we had a solid contract in our hands, it was our turn to laugh at the VCs.
Why? Because if they had agreed to fund us, even without any renegotiation from their side, they would have been able to lowball us severely and made a bargain during the exit. Unfortunately for them, they didn't and the lone investor we had made an insane return.
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