THE EVASIVE LOVER
You have always thought that it would be picture perfect. A white picket fence, a beautiful mansion, complete with a fluffy dog and adorable babies who look like you. You have grown up, reading books and romanticizing this great fantasy. So you are toying with speed dates, social media, a couple of dates here and there. It has been two years and your friends are getting married, living your fantasy, and moving on without you. You are getting dejected by the rejection cussing out that life is out to get you. What is this fuss all about? Funding — the evasive lover.
So why is funding one of the biggest hurdles for entrepreneurs? We have been constantly seduced by the fairy tales of Silicon Valley,lusting after Elon, Steve, Jack, Arianna and Wojcicki. Now it is your turn to write your legacy but every pitch, every application comes back with a huge NO, or a “you are awesome, but I don’t think you are ready just yet.” — talk of the “it’s not you, it’s me” catch 22 situation.
So after every other break up, when you are beat down and feeling unpretty, you decide to go back to the drawing board. Self Love — a relationship audit is underway.
What are the steps to get back in control of your idea and your legacy?
- Love is a two-way street. You must give to receive. You need to realize that anyone willing to fund you is looking at what value you will be adding to their balance sheet. Look at your business model and find out what you will be giving to the investors. This applies even when you need family to help you fundraise for your business.
- It takes time. Unless it is a Disney fairy tale, you do not just stumble upon your prince charming. Watching all those romantic flicks seconds my proposal. It will take a series of fortunate and unfortunate events to land you that dream man. The same goes with funding — pool your funding avenues to reach your ultimate goal. What does your space-time continuum look like for your business? Are you looking at all your business dimensions? Think in 7D.
- No one owes you anything. The world does not give a hoot about your picket fence dream. You must earn it. You need to persevere and think outside your limited box. If you always wanted a tall glass of coffee and ended up with a mug of iced caramel tea, you grab that mug and sip it down and enjoy the flavors.
- It sucks that you have gotten heart broken by Mr. Funding, but that does not mean that you are unattractive. Over 95% of applications are rejected annually. That does not mean that you should give up. Evolve your idea until you are just right for Mr. Funding. In your evolution, you will probably realize that it might not be funding that you need but proper internal processes.
The trick is to just start, be open and keep working to improve yourself for when you can appeal to the investor.
- Kitawa Wemo is the founder at MAMA Ventures, a growth accelerator company in Nairobi, Kenya. Check out the website www.mamaventures.org and get involved.
