Full-Service Technology Engineer | Making AI Work for Your Business and Solving Tech Challenges, Big and Small
A lot of people are trying to start a new business. Part of the reason why many people aren't successful at that is because they don't understand the economics and finances of a business. One of the biggest myths that seems to be pushed around is that there are these mysterious "investors" that will help support your business with cash early on and that will make your efforts easier. I see a lot of startup founders seem to treat this pursuit of investor money as their golden ticket, or at least, their start. You don't need investors to make money, but you do need to understand money. I have a proposition for anyone out their trying to raise money, have you considered what it would look like to not? At this point I've seen north of 500 company pitches in one form or another and there are common themes. Most startup founders are pitching a business that may require significant cash to do the way they are thinking, but almost every time I've seen a pitch I have seen a smaller scale version of the business they could deploy without needing outside money (or needing a lot less). At the core of a business, it should be turning a profit. So here is a thought question if you are in this position: How would your business be different if instead of looking for investor money you simply tried to create a product or service people wanted to use and would pay you for? A common theme I've seen is that the startup founder may wish to offer some automated or scalable version of a service, but they could offer a different version now. With BigTB, we love doing new product launches. The work is fun, the engineering problems are interesting, and the potential upside is massive. That said, we're able to avoid needing any external money because we do services work. What would that look like in your business? Would it be easier to find customers and use those revenues to fund your growth? A big part of the reason why I think this is an important goal is that it helps really target understanding how to make money in that industry. If you do end up needing investors, it is much easier to pitch "I have a business that is making some money now, but with investment we could make more because of (x, y, and z)" than it is to say "I have nothing right now, but if you give me money then I can build it". Whatever you're off to this Monday, good luck!
