188bet online sports betting

How to deal with investors?

Entrepreneurs must first understand their investors。To understand how this investor views the project，What he thinks is good business，What is a good entrepreneur，What is a team worth investing in?？

There are many investment institutions in the market，But there are those institutions you are most looking for。How to find these institutions，How to deal with them？What methods and methods need to be paid attention to？My answer is as follows:

1) You must know what investors are thinking？What question did he ask？What does this question mean，That’s what you need to understand，What are these guys thinking？

2) After understanding what he is thinking，I suggest you put yourself in someone else’s shoes and think about it，When you are telling business stories and negotiating，You should also put yourself in his shoes and think about it，Why did he mention it like this？So you must have empathy。

3) Capital (money) is profit-seeking after all，So rules are very important，Investors in this industry often value the original agreement，They are quite serious about this agreement，ThereforeEntrepreneurs must respect the rule itself，Be respectful of capital。

2. What is the best time for financing?

The existence and development of every great business，All have their own specific time windows，If you want to raise funds？But currently you only have one idea，It hasn’t been put into practice yet，That might not be enough。

If you have already made some prototypes of it，Even generated some users and revenue，At this time you can talk about the maturity of the product、Scale of users、Your income, etc.。

The timing of financing is still very particular,If your capital can support you to generate more users，Can also generate more income，Don’t rush to raise funds，You can try to contact some investors，But don’t go out and raise funds on a large scale，Because the earlier you raise funds，The lower your valuation，Similarly, the lower everyone’s trust in you，It would be better to come up with something formed。

A considerable proportion of entrepreneurs think his idea is good，Afraid of having your idea stolen by investors during the process of contacting them，Or spread to other portfolios。

I don’t think this is really necessary。First, you just have a creative idea，It’s actually not valuable，I don’t think: you have an idea，You are the smarter person in the world than Einstein，Let’s talk about that idea，I won’t be a VC tomorrow either，I used this idea to start a business，This is impossible，Not only do I not know how to do it，It is impossible for me to let the company I invested in do it，Because I invested in a company before，He already has several established development routes，I won’t let him change direction easily，So entrepreneurs must realize this。

Also，Your creativity，Others can’t play it either。Deep in the heart of an entrepreneur，There is a lot of logic supporting your idea，At the same time, you also have the resources behind you，VCs don’t have these，Shouldn’t touch it，So entrepreneurs don’t have to be afraid。

I suggest: You can ask investors to sign a confidentiality agreement with you，But actually, you don’t have to worry too much whether you sign or not，Because it is the basic professional ethics of the VC industry to keep business secrets，188bet app download They have to deal with thousands of entrepreneurs，Cares very much about his reputation。

3. How to write a business plan?

Send him a BP (Business Plan) before meeting the VC，On the one hand, let him know what you are doing，On the other hand, you must let him think after reading it，It will be very efficient for the two of them to meet in this way。

So how to prepare this BP (PPT)?

1) Talk about practical things and less nonsense. Investors will not have the patience to read PPTs that are too long，For a business, maybe 10 pages of PPT can be written clearly enough，Especially early projects。

So what is dry information? It’s nothing more than this:What business are you doing，The context (environment) of this business in your industry，What kind of people are you?，Why are you guys doing this。If it’s not easy to explain your financial matters in detail，Then mention the financial history and your forecasts，But for an early project，Maybe there is nothing to talk about here。Finally, let’s talk briefly，Approximately how much money do you need to raise this time，How to spend？

2) The content of BP must be logical.This is when entrepreneurs contact investors，One of the biggest problems encountered。Please do not list and pile up a bunch of things that have nothing to do with each other，To do it all in one go，It is critical whether you can explain this logic clearly in 10 minutes。

Find a logic that suits your own characteristics as much as possible！For this，I have repeatedly recommended that entrepreneurs rehearse before meeting investors，Find some critical listeners，Talk to them for 10 minutes，See if you can explain your logic，Does the other party understand?，Do you agree？

4. What are user needs in the eyes of investors?

The biggest flaw of entrepreneurs is not finding the real needs of users.

Entrepreneurs grasp the strategic direction of the company，The biggest problem encountered is not really finding out what the user needs are。User needs are the basis for entrepreneurs to do this，So everyone’s questioning of your needs must be the most stringent。

Investors look at demand from several angles:

1) Popular demand or niche demand.

Generally speaking，Of course the greater the demand，The larger the crowd you face。

2) Strong demand or weak demand.

Give an inappropriate example，Smoking is a bad need，Also a popular demand，Still a strong demand，Eating is also a strong need。

3) High frequency demand or low frequency demand.

Similar to strong and weak demand is high frequency or low frequency。But the two are fundamentally different: for example, take the GRE and study at New Oriental，That is a strong demand for every candidate，But it is a low frequency requirement。

4) Demand costs must also be considered，High cost means high price and high gross profit margin。

Entrepreneurs may just look for some combinations among the above three categories。There is also a problem that may easily arise here: the needs that entrepreneurs think，May not be a real requirement，It’s a fake requirement。Give an example，Shanxi has a lot of vinegar，There is no good jealousy here in Beijing，Can we open 20 Shanxi vinegar chain stores in Beijing，Sell hundreds of bottles?This is impossible，Because people need to go to supermarkets every day，Fire, rice, oil and salt are available everywhere，This type of need has been replaced and satisfied by other things，So this is a false demand for vinegar chain stores。

5) Some needs can be created.

There have always been various opinions in the industry: good products are used to meet needs，Great products create demand。What we can invest in are often good products，Not necessarily a cow product。What kind of needs can be created？It’s hard for me to explain clearly，But I believe we have the ability to judge。

We generally call creative people geniuses，Like Steve Jobs，Creating demand with products。

Generally speaking, when investors examine user needs，Probably the most tit-for-tat confrontation with entrepreneurs，Everyone tends to get excited when discussing and arguing about this area。For entrepreneurs，Because you have spent 188bet app a lot of time in this direction，You must cherish it，So I can understand if you blush when you argue。

But investors are talking about demand，It is about exploring the nature，Not just to doubt you，I’m also helping you think together，Is this a good direction worth your energy?。Investors may not be correct，But if he has some doubts about user needs，Or when there are some challenges，Entrepreneurs should still think calmly。

5. How do investors view the project?

Investors generally look at the nature of your business through these directions:

Are you seizing the new opportunities in the market。How to have new opportunities:

1) vertical、Subdivided、Cross-border、Fusion，This is an angle。

2) Make a layout in the depth of the industrial chain.

3) Due to some revolutionary innovation，New opportunities derived from it，For example, the development of mobile communications has created countless new business opportunities。

Although with the above three aspects，We still need to see if there are any thresholds for new opportunities，Or is it a brand new model。If not，If you have established a certain scale，Became the leader，Can also be very attractive。

Inside，I want to emphasize a term called China me too，This was suggested by a friend from Lenovo，I like to carry it forward。Chinese people like to follow trends，Especially with foreigners。Americans have launched an innovative business，The first Chinese copied the foreigners after thorough research，This is called me too。

What is China me two?？It’s the second Chinese who saw the first Chinese doing a good job，I am confident that I can do better with my abilities and resources，So I followed the appearance of the first Chinese，Second copy，This is China me too，But if the second Chinese has studied it more thoroughly，Congratulations to him！If the research is not thorough，Like a cat or a tiger，That’s in danger。So，I appeal not to plagiarize easily，It is not advisable to rush in the same direction。

6. What kind of team do investors like?

Everyone knows that VC depends on the team，But what really matters is a CEO，Although other team members are also important。

What do VCs care about when evaluating CEOs?

1) Look at your personal history.Things you have done in the past，Between the industry you are currently engaged in，Are there any strong correlations。

2) Test your abilities.Some entrepreneurs boast that they are like gods，This needs to be investigated。Personal opinion，If a CEO has comprehensive abilities，Of course it’s good，But realistically speaking, this is difficult to force，So we hope that some of the CEO’s abilities are exceptional。

3) Look at the team as a whole, especially the CEO’s own learning ability and execution ability.Generally speaking，Smart people have stronger learning abilities；Strength of execution ability，Decided by the personality of the CEO。

4) Look at the CEO’s ambition.Not open-minded enough，This enterprise must not be big。Some entrepreneurs are too bossy，This is not advisable。In fact, in our society today, no one can really regard themselves as their boss，Never think you are who you are today，Maybe your engineer will go out to do another thing tomorrow，After three years, he might subvert you，So we won’t always be the boss，We must have a spirit of sharing，Be approachable and approachable，Be able to mingle with the team。

5) It will be more attractive if you have several partners，Of course you can also walk as a team。Some companies may have multiple founders right from the start，No matter how these founders know each other、What is the relationship between them，What cannot be avoided is that it involves a very core equity balance、The issue of right to speak。

We actually hope that someone in the team can dominate。A dominant one must be better than the average，The person who dominates may not necessarily be the CEO，For example, it’s no problem if the CTO holds the largest share，This person is a matter of life and death for the company，Have the most responsibility。

Except for issues of shares and 188bet sports betting app download control，Rules of procedure are also crucial，Especially for relatively mature companies。There must be something wrong with Yiyantang，Without a doubt，Companies tend to go astray，But it’s not enough if everyone is in harmony，It’s unreasonable to be nice and gentle。What is better is of course harmony without difference，You are having an argument，But no matter what, there must be one person who has the final say。

The CEO must have this kind of arbitrary ability and determination，You must have this awareness，Only a company can be truly powerful，Won’t waver in decision-making，Be able to move forward smoothly。The method taught by Mr. Liu (Liu Chuanzhi) is very interesting:When the core team discusses issues，Be sure to put the problem on the table，Discuss openly and honestly，If we can’t discuss it once, we can discuss it again tomorrow，Be sure to discuss the very key points of disagreement clearly；After the discussion，If you still can’t form an opinion，Then it’s me who has the final say！

7. How to determine the valuation of a company?

The company’s valuation is ultimately the result of negotiations between all parties!

1) Financing more money is not better.

Usually a company requires multiple financings。If the first financing amount is too high，Equivalent to the second financing time，The threshold is much higher。If your business is very mature，You are 100% sure that you can do better，That may not be a big problem；But once your wish comes true，It did not achieve the effect you expected，What should you do next？You got the A round in the angel stage，How do you get it in round A？Are you going to raise the price of Series B again？If your business is good，There is still some support，The market is still popular，But if your business volume is not good，The future is worrying。

Also，If you raise too much money，Inflated confidence and chaotic expansion，It hurts myself instead。So financing must be done to a certain extent，Money is not necessarily better。

2) How much equity is appropriate to transfer.

In the early days，For example, angel stage or A round，10% released、15%、20% equity，In fact, there is not much difference。The important thing is that you need to run fast，This took you three months or half a year，It’s more important to get the price you want，This is about the issue of valuation itself。

A few suggestions:

Suggestion 1: Don’t worry too much about the dilution of your equity.

There are always entrepreneurs who are planning to raise their own funds，Can I still control 51% of the shares。In the early days，In fact, there is no right to speak，Because the company is yours，I can’t play it either，I won’t play with you either，So you release more、Less，No big problem，It is more important to make the pie bigger。

Suggestion two, time cost is very expensive.

The cost of time is more valuable than anything else，Running fast is more important than anything else，How much money do you get，Whose money to take，Both are much more important，Why?Because your opportunity cost is so high，You ran three months earlier than others，Opened in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou，Get more money than you，It is much more important to develop with them in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou。

Although the market you may see today is not competitive，But that doesn’t mean there is no competition in the market。It is said that Zhou Hongyi once said:Building a long-term enterprise，Then you will definitely meet！This makes sense，What you worry about will definitely happen，So run fast。

Suggestion Three，Have a long-term perspective，Building a long-term enterprise。

Looking at the past，Usually there is one to two years between each round of financing。Of course, because the competition in the market is more intense now，More money，So the pace of financing may be slightly faster，Some people melt only once every six months，This is normal，Some people even do it well，It only melts once every few months。

Entrepreneurs must have a plan.The planned nodes have milestones，For example, how many cities have expanded to，In other words, we have made several product lines，Or how many users there are，How much income has been made。But when planning，Not telling stories to VC，But in your heart，You have to think more fully about this difficulty yourself，Natural and man-made disasters happen every day，So we must think more fully about the difficulties，Leave yourself room。

The reason why we say long-term vision，Because there is another thing involved，If a founder is too good at financing，You can’t be too precise。VC is born with an abacus，But for entrepreneurs，You can’t be too precise，You cum with me today，Fine with your subordinates tomorrow，You and your customers will also be smart。The abacus is too precise，Too much tension，Not necessarily a good thing。Entrepreneur with great ambition，Even if the first business venture fails，When starting a business again, you can often get recognition and endorsement from VC。

8. How to set up an option pool?

How to design employee option pool?

Generally 10% to 30%，Why is there such a big gap?If your current team is complete enough，10% is about the same。But if your team is very incomplete，You can leave it a little bigger。In fact, the decision-making power of option issuance is basically the founder’s final say，Who do you give it to，No matter who you assign, investors generally won’t interfere too much，He just needs to know what you are probably thinking。

The other one is the scope of distribution，Everyone must pay attention to this。Many companies are trying to conquer the world together and everyone is divided into options，The CEO can say this，But you need to think about when to distribute it to the little brothers。

Because the early team was actually very unstable，You recruit a programmer from the market，Recruiting a salesperson，He may leave tomorrow，Options are worthless to them，What he considers is salary。So options should be given to important core personnel，I also need to know that I gave it to him，In the end, if he leaves, can you still get the options back，How to take it back if it is taken back，If you don’t take it back，What to do。

9. What are the things that need special attention during the financing process?

If the above，Everything is settled，Then it’s time to sign the investment terms。Entrepreneurs need to understand what are the customary terms of investment agreements，such as redemption、Liquidation preference、Veto rights and other provisions are commonly used by VC，It is a protective clause for small shareholders，Something like a life-saving straw，Entrepreneurs should not worry too much about these contents。As for some principled core interests，Entrepreneurs must also argue with reason。

No matter what kind of agreement is reached in the end，Once achieved，You must have the spirit of contract，The spirit of contract is more important than anything else。We must have a long-term vision，Building a good investor relationship is more important than anything else，Develop good habits in dealing with investors as much as possible。

At the same time, entrepreneurs also cherish their own credibility。When will credit show up，That’s when we are doing due diligence。Is your credit good or bad，Investors will learn，VC will do due diligence in this regard。If credit goes bankrupt，It will be very expensive！What are the typical credit mistakes？

1) Making up your own resume is very typical.

2) Make up or fictional team members.

3) Data fraud.

Also，There is another big taboo: going back on your word。This phenomenon is also very serious。Once you agree to sign the term，Don’t regret it anymore。Assume that an investment institution has reached an agreement with you，If you take BP at this time and go to other investment institutions to negotiate，Built a term with high valuation，Then this is very bad。

10. What are the reasons for financing failure?

Staying alive is more important than anything else.

First，There should be a distinction between those that cannot be integrated and those that do not need to be integrated。There are some businesses that do not require financing，Don’188bet app t raise money for the sake of raising money，Don’t raise funds because of competitors or your classmates，I feel itchy，Go and melt it yourself。

More financing is needed，But it can’t be melted，The reason is generally speaking，These are a few things:

1) The industry is too small.The industry is not small, as discussed earlier about user needs.

2) Incompetence.Although the direction is good，But investors think you are not the material，This has to be done by Jack Ma！

3) Multitasking.Serial entrepreneurs are outstanding in this regard，Eating from the bowl and looking into the pot。For example, you were working in a certain field before，But it doesn’t make much sense to do it，Seeing that group buying is popular，Just go and do group buying，See other fire，Going to do something else，But I can’t bear to throw away the original group of entrepreneurs. Are entrepreneurs focused?，It is also very important for VC。

4) The attitude is too high.If the valuation is too high, or the calculation is too sophisticated, the negotiation will easily collapse.

Of course，There is another possibility that we cannot rule out，We VCs are the ones who made the mistake，I should have voted for you but I didn’t dare to vote for you，But this is rare。You haven’t raised funds in a few months，Be sure to find your own reasons first。At this time，If you still refuse to admit your mistake，Then no matter what, try to survive，Living is too important！

11. How to find investors?

Do you have any tips for finding VCs? There must be some.

1) There are many VC fund schools.

There are many investment funds on the market，Includes veteran US dollar funds，Old brand RMB fund，Government-related funds，There is also a brokerage investment department，Split from the existing system、A new player in the market，He BAT Strategic Investment Department，And a wide variety of well-known and unknown venture capital funds，blah blah blah。Funds of different categories，Their styles are different，Some people like to bet，Some people like to do detailed due diligence before giving a term。

2) Each institution has its own differences.

VC industry，There is a turtle road，Snake has its way，Everyone shows his or her special powers。But，Overall，China and the United States are similar，It’s an old brand、Well-known VC institutions are more popular。But，There are often differences between VCs，This and the capital sources of each fund、Fund’s strategy、The DNA of the fund team is closely related。Of course there is this difference，From an operational level: everyone’s investment process is similar。So，If someone told you，It will be paid to you tomorrow，That’s bullshit，As an institutional investor，Due diligence and other things must be done。

In addition to the differences between funds，There are also differences within each fund。That is, in the same fund，That’s who from the fund you are talking to，It’s also different，Maybe partner A of this fund likes your project，Partner B doesn’t like it，Because of the position of each investor、Area of ​​concern、Gender、Age、Experience、Knowledge、Ability、Even the mood is different！But this difference，Do not simply understand it as a difference in positions。Don’t underestimate investment managers and analysts，As a frontline worker，Their opinions are often crucial。

3) Talk to several more VCs, but you have to control the rhythm.

Before launching financing，You can ask a few friends in the investment community for consultation，Discuss whether the time is ripe for financing，Is the story attractive。If officially financed，Don’t just throw in all the best VCs，I saw them all。In reverse，Maybe you can find one or two excellent VCs and one or two that you may not really look at、VC who is willing to listen to opinions，Use them as a touchstone first。The sad thing is，Propose to all the beauties you like from the very beginning，Rejected，Even when you become good enough，The optional object is not what you want。

Besides this, there are several principles to follow:

Talk 188bet Online Sports Betting and Casino to more VCs appropriately，Listen to different opinions and feedback；

Finally suitable for getting money，Top name first! It’s not who gives you the highest valuation，Whose money will be taken，I think it’s better to get a quality VC’s money，Get $1 million more and get 5% less dilution，Much more important，With the endorsement of an awesome VC，Their resources and experience can help you more，Your future financing will also be easier！

Efficiency is important，Under valuation、Between fund brand and efficiency，To achieve a balance，Building time is a critical factor for early-stage companies； 

Suitable for yourself，That is, the shoe principle，Shoes must be comfortable to wear。

Of course，Principles are principles，You must have your own flexibility，Master a certain amount of flexibility。

4) Success in financing does not equal success.

Financing successful，Getting money doesn’t mean you have succeeded，This is the first step in the long march。Nearly twenty years，Financed、Any team or company that is VC-backed，Abound，But most companies are closed。Because whether a business can really succeed，Some things are beyond your control，Your product direction、Market window、Execution ability、Refinancing ability，These may restrict you。And it cannot be denied，Success has an element of luck in it。

*This article is reproduced from Investors Talk.