Don't take the investor money

0:03 Welcome to business purpose and clarity with petri I'm your host we talk about startup life insights practical tips mistakes failures and everything between your company with customers money no I don't mean invest money I mean customers money like with revenues that's how the good companies are built listen to your customers you sell something to them and they buy shocking concepts I know a few weeks ago I was in startup conferences and I spoke with many star I wiped that they are a bit ashamed some of them I mean that they haven't taken investor money and they were like yeah I should be taking it because I want to have the advice or whatever the reason was they were excusing to me and I was like hey that's not the way to go about it diluting your cap table is not.

1:09 Building your company with customer that's an achievement raising money doesn't mean that you're more successful oftentimes when you have more money you can not listen to your customers too carefully because hey you have the money you have more time you have more resources but it doesn't mean that your traction goes the right way or you're building the thing the customers want so to go to market and all these things may go completely another direction and then you have a hole in your cap table you have diluted your cap staple you have investors you don't have the progress you hope to get with the the other thing is that this smart from the money if there ever was a smart money is something you can do as well because I heard that I want to get the smart investors I want to get the advice.

2:12 Goal to reply was that decouple it find the advices and find the investors but don't combine them because it's like a really amazingly good checkpoint if you can find them in the same package oftentimes that doesn't work so why make it so complex and difficult and if you don't need the money just take that wise you can find some way to if you want for the advice pay with cash or pay with options or some other in incentives but if you require that they invest in order to get advice you're limiting the pool of people you can use in your startup to make it better finding investors is sales selling your products sales so what's the difference if you focus on your energy on potential customers selling your product making it better listening to the people who are your prospective customers.

3:15 That may actually improve your product that may actually improve your company that may actually get you better talking to investors is not exactly doing that they're not your customers in many times most of the so the advice may not actually be that valid because the only real good advice is the one where the customer is giving you the in exchange for the products you or services you rendering for them if you are trying to sell or services trying to sell your shares at the same time fragmenting your time is that the best way of using your limited resources and if you have managed to build your company so far without investor money the best companies are built with revenues just keep that in mind and be.