I am a bit concerned that today’s startup culture equates being a good entrepreneur with the ability to raise funding. Entrepreneurs that have raised large amounts of capital seem particularly idolized.
But raising money isn’t winning the game – it’s just – getting you in the stadium.
Business plan and pitch competitions feed into this. Don’t worry about a well thought out product – focus on a slick 3 minute speech instead! Does that pitch even make sense? Who cares if the investors like it!
So many entrepreneurs are focused solely on raising capital. They don’t seem particularly concerned about understanding the market or objectively determining if their business makes sense. They’re more focused on positioning their story so that investors buy into it.
This mentality is unhealthy. It cheats the next generation of entrepreneurs. We’re glorifying and optimizing the wrong skill set. I’d like to see less time spent talking about how to raise capital and more time talking about how to build a business.
Tagged: Fundraising