Putting Skin in the Game

“I’m got an idea for a new product. Do you know what investors I should talk to?”

I always enjoy hearing about new ideas that people are working on, and this question is invariably one of the first that comes up in those conversations.

My initial response is almost always “How much of your own time and money have you invested so far?” The answer to this question tells me how serious they are about the venture. Often I hear something along the lines of:

“I have another full/part-time job and I can’t start working on this until I can quit this other job” or “I don’t have any money to invest. That’s why I’m looking for investors.”

Here’s some practical things you can do to demonstrate you’re serious to potential investors:

• Stop watching TV or playing video games altogether. Spend every spare second on your new venture
• Save enough money to fund the first version of your product. It takes less money than you think. Stop going out to dinner, sell your new car and buy a cheap used car, etc. If you need time to do it, we’ll all be OK until you have what you need. Some ideas are time-sensitive, but most aren’t
• Ask your family for money. If the people who know you best aren’t willing to back you, why should an investor?

Often times, looking for an early investor is a form of the Resistance. It gives you an excuse to not do the hard work of overcoming all of the inertia it takes to bring your idea to life.

I know all of this from first-hand experience. Every day when I sit down to write for this blog, record a podcast, or work on the product I’m building one of the first questions I ask myself is “How can I get someone else to make all of this easier?” We all have to pay the price required to be in the game. There are no shortcuts.

Every day I spend time and money on ideas and products, not knowing whether or not it will work. I could make a LOT more money doing something else, but I feel like the world will be a better place if I can connect with just a few people and let them in on what I’ve learned.

Some days I eat the bear and some days the bear eats me, but there’s no question I’ve got real skin in the game.

Perhaps you need to invest your time, talents and treasure fully before you ask others for theirs.