Fwd: Confidence is THE single most important attribute in being able to attract money

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: John Livesay <johnlivesay70@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Jul 28, 2016 at 8:02 AM
Subject: Confidence is THE single most important attribute in being able to attract money
To: Stee <stevescott@techacq.com>

Dear Stee, "If my objective is raising capital and I'm struggling, what can I learn about those who do get funded and how can I improve my odds by changing me? Maybe it's the system, maybe it's me — but either way what could I do differently to change outcomes?" From Aspiration to Hero For companies that do have that moment of success where everything seems to come together: funding, hiring, customers, PR, product releases and so forth — you have a "hero" moment where you feel invincible. This is a very predictable phase of the startup journey and a lot of good can come from it. The founders and team develop a huge confidence level that appropriately increases risk-taking, output, expansion, deals, revenue, press and everything that is a consequence of initial successes. This is a very common post Series A phenomenon. Everything has gone well to date. Everything seems possible. Nothing has started to sour, nobody is frustrated, nobody has move on because it all still seems possible that you're the next great company. Of course it's a fine line between hero and hubris. There is also a predictable moment in many companies where teams convince themselves that everything they're doing is great. It's why sometimes I fear when teams raise too much money too early in a startup because capital can mask underlying problems for a long time. One example is that capital funds team growth which funds product output which funds press coverage and accolades which becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Without the tension of scarce capital some teams paper over the fact that eventually money must be made. Or some teams who start driving revenue paper over the fact that they aren't acquiring customers profitably. Another predictable sign of hubris in startups is when the founders start looking for other companies to buy. If you're an early-stage startup and even contemplating acquiring other companies slap yourself in the face and focus on your own business instead. M&A junkies are hatched from businesses where the core isn't working and it seems far easier to acquire another startup than to do the hard work of refining your own. When Hero Slips Into Failure, Self Doubt and Anxiety As predictable as the hero's journey is — so, too, are the conflicts and bumps along the road. Almost all companies hit those tough moments when customer growth slows down, competitors launch products and dilute your good press coverage, employees start doubting the future and cash reserves start to dwindle. It's what you do in these moments that often determine success from failure. It's really important to get control of your own emotions as you go through this phase of your startup journey as your non-verbal queues will be picked up by the entire team. A lack of confidence will also cloud your ability to take positive steps in tough times. When you started you had the youthful (from a company perspective not age) energy, enthusiasm and naïveté that comes from actually thinking you can change the world. Nobody goes into a startup expecting to fail — we all imagine the next big startup movie is going to be about us. Our inner script is heroic and the struggles are mere battle scars . In your hero phase you got invited to speak on panels. You attended speaker dinners, went to entrepreneur parties on ships or in Europe. Your high school friends sent you messages on Facebook that maybe you were "most likely to succeed." But building a successful startup is hard. And back home when you land and come into the office on Monday your staff still knows the truth. Your app isn't getting enough repeat visitors. Your churn rates are too high. Your eCommerce company has too much unsold inventory. Your lead developer quit to join the new, new thing. We've all been there — every entrepreneur. You start off by believing your own hype. And then you meet reality. And some entrepreneurs can maintain their enthusiasm, optimism and energy: Working hard and staying positive. But that's hard. Many still put in the hours but you can see the stress in their eyes and hear it in their voices. In stead of telling people how they are going to change the world they start to show self doubt. They qualify every initiative with, "well this didn't prove viral adoption last time so I don't expect a silver bullet this time." Sometimes the silver bullet does come. Often it doesn't. Usually success is about working hard enough and long enough and eventually getting a lucky break. In order to make the magic work another few months, years, you need to keep up blind belief in yourself. Confidence is THE single most important attribute in being able to attract money, hire staff, stave off creditors, get press, do biz dev deals, close big sales and one day sell your company. Click here to read more: https://bothsidesofthetable.com/getting-back-your-series-a-mojo-eb137a816f48#.w64uww24y Best,   John Funding Strategist P.S. Would you like to get in front of more angel investors fast? Click below, book in a call and let's talk about how I can get you access to my titanium investor Rolodex: http://www.meetme.so/Livesaystrategysession   P.S.S. Make sure you do at least 2 things this week...  1. Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/John-Livesay-350212128437220 2. Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlivesay PLUS: Here are ways I can help you today... Get a FREE crash course on how to get funded fast: https://johnlivesay.leadpages.co/sellingsecretsforfundingcom-apply/ ----- John Livesay john@johnlivesay.com Copyright © 2016 John Livesay, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website SellingSecretsForFunding.com Our mailing address is: John Livesay 603 N. Plymouth Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90004 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list