We've been talking about entrepreneurs so far and what their needs and realities are, and what I'd like to do is talk a little bit about the other side: investors and what their perception is, particularly when it relates to management teams, and how important is the management team? And that's a great question. And if you think investors only invest in great deals and leave everything else on the sidelines, well, think again. The management team is probably one of the most important components of the deal. The team is going to figure very prominently in any investors decision to fund the company especially if the track record is thin. The history of the management team may be the only solid, understandable piece of information available to the potential investor.
You know, businesses must be able to succeed in the face of a lot of different challenges and rapidly changing conditions. Experience gives the potential investor comfort that the management team can spot issues and challenges and are flexible and skilled enough to deal with those as things develop.
Integrity and commitment are also a part of that. Investors want to see a high level of work ethic on the part of management and certainly to see that they have enough skin in the game.
Charisma in a management team is great, but too much can get in the way. Our investors want key players to have egos that are big enough to get the job done but not so big that the individual can't be a team player and can't accept advise, and this is a real sticky point with a lot of smaller companies. If our investors suspect that management is too arrogant or egocentric to accept advice, prospects of the investment being made are going to be very minimal.
In a nutshell, potential investors want to know that they can trust the management team with their money. They want to feel secure with the upcoming success and that their interest will be protected.
We welcome questions from entrepreneurs when they're preparing to pitch our investors. They can call The Capital Match Point, because ultimately we're interested in funding successes with our investors.

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