Being an associate at Techstars has tons of perks, one of which is being able to hear from super cool, accomplished entrepreneurs. Today's talk was about fundraising. The best quote of the night was "Get to a no as fast as possible". Once the presenter said this my mind started racing because this applies to so many aspects of people's lives. It can relate to enterprise sales or high stakes negotiations or to dating.
I've only been in NYC for four months but one thing that I have continually heard from female friends, associates, and even strangers is how hard it is to date in NYC. My girlfriend said she has heard it time and time again as well. Guess what? You also hear this same problem in fundraising. There is a supply and demand mismatch. Too many companies and not enough angels and VCs. Just like there are too many woman and not enough quality guys.
This is a fundamental economics problems. Demand is high. Supply is low. Given this setup things become a lot more difficult and expensive. So you have to change the game. Get to that no as quickly as possible. Don't let an investor drag out the process too long otherwise you lose tons of time that could have been dedicated to a quality partner. This opens up space for people that are going to help you prosper instead of stifle your growth and fundraising process.
Also remember that a "no" is okay. Sometimes you and an investor don't match well or fit together. That's perfectly fine and normal. It doesn't reflect on you personally or your business. Yoy may not work together now but there is always a chance that you will work together in the future. (So don't burn that bridge-topic for another post). Blog XIII