11–20 of 55 posts
"Outside money is expensive" - http://nathanbarry.com/profit/
I think you answered it yourself. Investor money is like a debt, and try to avoid it as much as you can.
I think you've answered your own question. Taking outside money will make life busier, increase pressure, and create investor expectations that may be different from your own. Bringing in an investor that would be willing to replace you with a new management team is a Bad Idea(tm). It's also a bad idea to try to mislead your investors and replace yourselves. Outside money can be great if you want to build a really bi…
> But there are tons of businesses that are better off using revenue as funding. Any specific examples?
This mentality is not compatible with venture capital. You want a life-style business. And that is absolutely fine. Investors want you to be very busy, scale the business and build a large company. Is the only way they can make their money back. (I work for a venture fund in Dubai)
Who doesn't? In the end, everyone is choosing a life-style. Life-style decisions should be the first and most important motivating factor for engaging in any business activity - not money, not growth. Life-style. Money and growth and all the tangible business indicators are at least an order of factor away from the real reason folks do business.
Folks wanting the venture funded path are also choosing that particular life-style: that of a pseudo-employer/boss with expectations and salaried "at-the-coal-face" employees arrangement. If this is what makes them happy, they are in it as much for that particular life-style.
You get what you want. Happily.
This mentality is not compatible with venture capital. You want a life-style business. And that is absolutely fine. Investors want you to be very busy, scale the business and build a large company. Is the only way they can make their money back. (I work for a venture fund in Dubai)
A non-funded company is not by definition a 'life-style business'. That's pretending there are only two choices whereas in fact there is a huge continuum ranging from mom-and-pop operations all the way to enormous privately held conglomerates.
If you work for a venture fund you should know that the choice is slightly more complicated than funded and life-style businesses.
Being 'happy' does not mean someone wants a 'life-style' business, it simply means they want a healthy work-life balance and that says nothing about the eventual size of the company.
I've decided to not take investment any time soon (if ever)
The very fact that you're having doubts about this says that you really don't want outside investors.
If you're making statements like this:
> We just want to be happy and don't have a more busy life
Outside investment will just make you utterly miserable.
http://www.aaronkharris.com/investors-and-their-incentives
As few people noticed, The content of the question displays way of thinking that is incompatible with VC.
My approach right now is to find an angel investor who could spend reasonable amount of time with me. Effectively a mentor, to help me with answers for question like yours.
What I'm saying is that you should align your "strategy" with your own goals. If you guys are growing organically, are profitable and don't have crazy goals like trying to conquer the world, then welcome to the sane side of the equation! Leave the crazy working hours and unrealistic goals to those with the big egos.. If lots of money and being powerful is what matters to you (I think it should be considered a disease), then go for it as well..