Washington, D.C. · Member since 2019 · 36 posts · 9 votes
I am trying to find investors who believe in me and my abilities, However, I know investors only care about credibility. I have an awesome team with experience in which I lean on however, I want to bring my own investors to the table as well. When you are starting out, and do not have assets under your belt, How can you get an accredited investor to look your way?
As you mentioned it yourself investors care about your credibility and track record. If you don't have a track record, you need to partner up with someone who has and leverage their expertise to present to your investors.
As you mentioned it yourself investors care about your credibility and track record. If you don't have a track record, you need to partner up with someone who has and leverage their expertise to present to your investors.
@Account Closed You need to give more to investors than those with better track records. That might mean the first few deals are an unfair split between you (and your efforts) and the investor, however I view that as the cost of getting a reputation built. Investors are always analyzing risk vs reward. In their minds, you will be a higher risk, therefore you need to tip the scale for them.
@Jason Powell Thank you so much for that point of view, I have partners who are credible however I really want to bring something to the table as well.
If you don't have a track record, you need partners (as @Alina Trigub said) or start with family and friends and others who are currently in your network.
I salute you for looking to expand out of your comfort zone and add value. In order to better provide an answer to you, can you elaborate on the below:
-What are you currently doing?
-What are your partners doing?
-Why do you want to bring new investors to the table?
To answer your question, I am handling marketing and searching for motivated sellers, I am fundraising with investors, and I create content for our website, social media, and youtube channel.
My partners are also apart of the marketing campaign and fundraising with investors. They have the attorneys, developers, and experience that I do not have. They are also having more luck with locating and communicating with accredited investors.
The reason why I want to bring in a new investor is that I want to give my company the best chance possible to fully fund our deals. We're focusing on commercial apartments 50-100 units and will ultimately need a lot of capital. I also want to prove to myself and my team that I am capable of producing an official accredited Investor.
To answer your question, you will want to leverage your partner's track record in order to source and secure investors. Put together a presentation outlining what you and your partners have done, and really lean on their track record to spark interest in the projects you're working on. The importance of items that investors look at is Team, Experience, and Deal.
You're currently helping with marketing, deal sourcing, fundraising, and content creation for social media. So if you're currently fundraising, what is the issue? You say investors don't believe in your credibility? Are you selling your partner's track record? How are you approaching prospective investors? Are you trying to sell them on you alone so you can break off?
I understand what your saying, I see that regardless I going to have to leverage my partners. I was hoping there would be way around that but my partners are happy to help. I really thought it would we make them proud to see that I was able to get an investor on my own however someone else mentioned, that may I am coming off too "salesy" which in turn could be what's hurting me. I need to work on simply building my network and relationships first.
@Account Closed , Unless you have your own track record that you can point to, I don't see another way around it in order to raise capital. One way is to secure commitments from family and friends who are taking a risk on you and your business savvy. If, however, these are not family/friends and more "distant" relationships then they'll will likely want to see more of your history in this business.
Why are you looking for a way around it? Do you want to make more money? Is it ego, in that you want the recognition? It shouldn't be about pride, or proving that you can do such and such. The most important thing is working as a team for a common target. Everyone will have their place in a team and be better at one thing over another. This isn't to say that you cannot do the things you want to do, such as secure new investor relationships, but the outcome is what matters, not the process. And if you really want to do that for the right reasons, then make sure you learn how to. There's plenty of books, trainings, and even other people who have experience raising capital that can help point you in the right direction. It's a learnable skill like anything else and I respect anyone that can do it well!
@Theo Hicks I literally just finished your book! It was great and I’m following the steps you and Joe listed. I have a partner and great mentors but we’re at a stand still right now