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Dear Founder, There is No Magic Money Tree
Dear Startup Founders, I regret to Inform you that there is no magic money tree.
Neither does it fall from the sky
This may sound like a ridiculous, patronising, and cynical statement, but not a week goes by when I’m not asked by some aspiring founders — typically yet to launch — “when will I get funding?”.
The reality and truth is: for many(/most), you won’t.
Investors won’t flock simply because you think you have a good idea, and perhaps a little traction. It’s an extremely competitive landscape, with every entrepreneur fighting for attention, trying to cut through the noise, and get their heads above the crowd to get noticed.
This can’t be understated nor underestimated: only the best, most resilient, and most focused will shine.
And this is priceless advice for those who are serious, as if you act like you’ll never get funding, then you’ll focus on solving the burning problem, grow your business, bring in revenue, and make money.
The reality also, is that this question usually comes from those who are not serious. The typical persona with this thought process — in my experience — has yet to dip their toe in the startup world but sees it as a fast-track to getting rich.
And this, for me, is a guaranteed path to failure.
For those whose burning priority is to get rich, rather than to be the commander of their own destiny and solve a problem they’ve identified, they are usually the first to fail (if they even start in the first place).
Too many people see entrepreneurship as the quick fix for everything, including getting mind-boggling wealth with the great idea they had a few weeks ago. Whereas, if you speak to the majority of entrepreneurs (those who have experienced great success, as well as those who are still ploughing away to reach great heights), they’ll tell you that entrepreneurship can be an extremely lonely, isolating, exhausting journey where you constantly second guess yourself, see more failures (read: lessons) than instant successes, need an inordinate amount of patience and resilience, and frequently wonder “did I make the right decision?”
