And yet founders often ignore the single most important (and cheapest) sources of funding. Customers.
Customers are also their most valuable type of validation. Forget metrics that don’t matter, like pageviews, likes, or hits. It’s paying customers.
How many people have you spoken to this week that might be prepared to value what you do, enough to put down some coin?
Perhaps a better question is “Do you know where your customers are?”
They are everywhere, if you would but open your mouth.
I had just finished the evening dinner with my colleague, and another great successful startup team, preparing and backgrounding for our new #Startup2020 campaign.
After changing taxis, I get talking with another in-transit passenger, ‘Solly’, who tells me that after finishing a 12 hour shift on his last day at work, he didn’t even get so much as a thank you.
(Can you imagine working for a company for 1825 days, and not even getting a ‘thank-you’? Actually, perhaps you can.)
So I asked him what he had done up until today for the last 5 years, and he proceeded to tell me for the next 6 or 7 minutes, including the fact that he friend had a great idea for a business in his area of expertise, that he had always wanted to do.
He stopped, and asked what I did.
So did I fumble my lines, give him a wishy-washy answer, or give him some long diatribe?
No. I simply gave him the answer that I give to anyone, delivered naturally openly. “We run a startup venture accelerator for young people with a goal start and stay started in business, who have a great idea, and aren’t sure what to do next”, was my reply.
Measured, relaxed and authentic. Which by the way, is exactly how you should deliver yours too.
His response was enthusiastically simple “have you got a card?”
Validation.
So if you want more funding than you can handle, do these four simple things, everyday.
- know your lines
- rehearse delivering them daily
- know what is important to your customers, and
- open your mouth
