“Those guys are successful, they’ve raised half a million from investors,” one startup commentator recently said about a business.
Is raising money the benchmark of business success? Surely getting investors on board is part of the journey, not the destination.
Having some investors coming on board means others share the founders’ belief their idea is a viable business and it’s a great ego boost for those working hard to bring the product to market.
That cash also exponentially improves the survival chances of the business – too many promising ventures fail because the founders haven’t enough capital.
While it’s an important milestone in the growth of a business, raising capital is not the end game. Only minds addled by the Silicon Valley kool-aide believe that.
In fact, if you’ve set up a business because you hated working for a boss, you might find your new investors are the toughest task masters you’ve ever worked for.
Good luck.