For over three decades in growth-stage investing, capital markets, and consulting, I have operated alongside, evaluated, advised, and invested in countless growth-stage companies and funds. I know how investors think, and I know what they are looking for in an opportunity.
In addition, I have served as Managing Director of the Colorado office of Endeavor, the world’s largest scale-stage entrepreneur advisory network and venture capital fund – supporting over 2,600 scale-stage founders, operating in over 45 countries. I know how entrepreneurs think, and I know how a great many of them approach the growth financing process.
Over that time, I have watched countless entrepreneurs both succeed and fail at the process of strategic financing – whether that was raising a first-time funding round, obtaining expansion capital for a mature and growing business, engaging industry strategic investors, or bringing institutional investors into a family-run business.
Capital Mindset™ was born of my frustration of watching otherwise viable companies fail to secure financing, or waste significant money trying to do so - simply because they:
Did not understand how to effectively position their business to make it more attractive to capital providers,
Had little to no understanding of the needs of various institutional investors or how to engage with them,
Were unable or unwilling to create and follow a disciplined, and effective financing process.
They simply do not understand the Mindset of the investor, how to satisfy the investor’s needs, or how to approach and engage the investment community.
I find myself constantly reminding entrepreneurs that the first step in attracting investment capital, is to start thinking and acting like an investor. I call it the Capital Mindset™. Aligning your Mindset with that of the investor is the essential first step.
Raising a round of financing can be an intimidating process - even for seasoned entrepreneurs and business owners. However, it is not just early-stage venture companies that experience this challenge. It can also be difficult for mature businesses seeking growth capital, as well as family business owners looking to access investor capital for the first time.
As an entrepreneur or business leader, your company is your passion. You have strong conviction for what you have built, for how much progress you will be able to make with growth capital, and for the healthy returns you will be able to provide investors.
But - do you really have any idea on how convicted investors will be with the opportunity? Do you really understand the Mindset of the investor – their needs, expectations, and what they are looking for in an opportunity?
If not, do not fear - you are not alone. As a matter of fact, this describes most entrepreneurs looking to engage investor capital for the first time – at any stage. If this describes your situation, you should read this material BEFORE you embark on any financing round:
You are a first time Founder, looking to access venture-focused investor capital for the first time.
You are a seasoned entrepreneur, leading a mature business, that is looking to access growth-stage investor capital for the first time.
You are the leader of a family business that is interested in bringing on investment partners for the first time or interested in preparing for an eventual exit to the investment community (ie. Private Equity or Strategic Buyers).
You are an entrepreneur leading a highly technical business (science, engineering, hard tech, healthcare) which will be a challenge for the investment community to understand and underwrite.
You are a service provider (lawyer, accountant, growth consultant, fractional CFO, marketing professional) that is working with growth-stage companies that are either in the process or getting ready to raise capital – but you have little personal experience with the process.
You are who Capital Mindset™ was created for.
If you are a serial entrepreneur, finance and investment professional, or have completed several financing rounds as a service professional (ie. Lawyer, Fractional CFO, Accountant) - you likely already know a lot of this material. Capital Mindset™ was NOT created for you.
The purpose of Capital Mindset™ is extremely simple. It helps entrepreneurs avoid very common, basic mistakes made by ‘first-timers’ in the financing process. Mistakes that lead to a significant waste of time, lengthening the financing process far longer than necessary, and costing tens if not thousands of dollars of lost cash burn.
To put it bluntly – Capital Mindset™ is meant to save the two things most important to you – your precious time, and your hard-earned money.
Capital Mindset™ does this by correcting a problem that I have witnessed again and again, over my last thirty years of investing. The problem is that too many entrepreneurs lack a solid understanding of how investors think.
How are you ever going to be successful in the financing process if you don’t understand the Mindset of investors first? It’s like starting a marathon without knowing where the finish line is. You can put a lot of time and effort in, but if you are running in the wrong direction, it’s all a waste of time – and you are unlikely to finish the race.
Capital Mindset™ is not a lengthy book. No one launching a financing round has the time or patience to read a lengthy book on the topic. Capital Mindset™ provides a foundational understanding of the Mindset of investors. Information that you NEED. Information on how investors think, how to think and act like investors in order to be more successful, how to target appropriate investors, and how to actually create a structured process that you and your team can utilize for success.
Capital Mindset™ was developed for entrepreneurs that are in a hurry. It was designed to be a quick read. Most people should be able to work through the material in about an hour or two. This is the exact amount of time it takes most people to meet an advisor or mentor over coffee. That was the intention.
Two hours of material. Concise, efficient, straight to the point information. No fluff. Two hours of material designed to help you get out of the gate well-prepared to engage the investment community. Two hours of material meant to help you avoid huge mistakes at the outset. Mistakes that will definitely lead to a tremendous amount of your precious time and money being wasted.
There is simply no excuse not to dedicate two hours of your time to such a critical task.
