Attracting the right investor for your business is a "critical hire for your business" and is something you need to be very "mindful" of when looking for the right partner, according to BreakawayGrowth Fund co-founder and managing director Chris Albinson.
The comment was made at PGC Digital #4 on a panel about 'The Investor Dating Game - Attracting the Right Investor'. Further panellists included: Wicked Sick founder and CEO Craig Fletcher, Execution Labs co-founder Keith Katz, Hiber chief strategy and marketing officer Sean Kauppinen, Consulate General of Finland LA trade commissioner Zsuzsa James and Go Beyond Capital founding partner Kadri Ugand.
"Do your homework," said Albinson.
"Make sure it's someone whose not so risk-averse, such as a dentist who has just sold his office and now wants his money back after 18 months.
"Unfortunately, it's a hire you can't fire, so you need to make sure you have a partner who is aligned with your vision long-term and you're excited to work with them," he added.
Research
Agreeing with Albinson, Ugand recounted a recent experience where "a game studio linked to a video and said 'oh here's a prototype ready, will you help us sell it?'.
"This is not realistic," she said.
You need to do the homework. You need to know who you want, why you want them, why you're a good fit… and why should I help you in the first place."
"I would say for people who do very small investments, they're probably looking at three to six-year time periods but it comes down to the individual business," replied Kauppinen in relation to when a seed investor should expect to get their money back.
"If you have something that is quickly scalable and something you can prove is a viable product and its market fit, and get it to a scaling stage, you can do that in six to 12 months so you could get the return faster."
PGC Digital #4 will run from November 9th to November 13th. To keep up to date with all of our coverage, check out the roundups here. There's still time to sign up - to find out more and book a ticket, head to the website.
