{"id":45054,"date":"2025-04-23T23:04:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T23:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/45054\/"},"modified":"2025-04-23T23:04:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T23:04:09","slug":"how-can-i-become-the-kind-of-business-owner-that-investors-want-to-invest-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/45054\/","title":{"rendered":"How can I become the kind of business owner that investors want to invest in?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Investors look for founders whose passion for their business will see them through the tough times.Getty Images<\/p>\n

Ask Women and Work <\/p>\n

Question: I\u2019m a business owner. A friend, who is also a founder, told me that when investors are making funding decisions, they invest in the founder as much as the business. What qualities are they looking for in a founder? <\/b><\/p>\n

We asked Nouhaila Chelkhaoui, founder and CEO of Scale Without Borders, to tackle this one: <\/p>\n

If you are a founder with an early-stage business, investors are looking for what I call founder market fit. Is the founder the right person for this market and connected to this problem they are trying to solve? Are they deeply entrenched and passionate about what they are doing? Founders are going to go through all sorts of challenges \u2013 recessions, pandemics, market shifts \u2013 and their ability to stay connected to that vision is going to help the business not only survive but thrive when times get tough. Passion is probably the biggest North Star. <\/p>\n

Attitude and personality are very important, because a lot of investors look at this as like a marriage, especially investors who are going be hands-on with you. They want to have a healthy and hopefully enjoyable relationship with you. Also, your ability to attract talent can be assessed based on your attitude and personality. Will people want to work for you? <\/p>\n

I do want to note, however, that I think investors are becoming more cognizant of the fact that founders come from all walks of life and in different personalities. For example, they are learning that neurodiverse founders should not be overlooked. I work with newcomers, and we push the narrative that newcomers don\u2019t always communicate in the same way as people who\u2019ve been here for a while, but investors shouldn\u2019t always seek out the familiar. <\/p>\n

Red flags for investors would be lying, cheating, having something in your past that you have not disclosed. You need to be your authentic self. Be respectful, self-aware and communicate as much as you can. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s also important to have a healthy level of detachment. Understand that your success is not tied to that investor and you aren\u2019t reliant on them. I think nowadays people position investment as the ultimate success, but it\u2019s not. You will become the most attractive founder to investors by going out there and building your business as much as you can, then stepping back to connect with more investors and see if they want to come on the ride with you. <\/p>\n

Must reads<\/p>\n

Do you suffer from the Overachiever\u2019s Paradox?<\/b><\/a> <\/b><\/p>\n

Executive coach Keren Eldad got straight As in school and continued to outperform in fast-paced, high-paying jobs, vying for any and all chances at recognition, promotions and raises. She was a winner, but didn\u2019t always feel like one. She was aimless, restless, lonely, frustrated, paranoid and deeply insecure, anxious about whether she could keep advancing. She felt trapped in a gilded cage of empty success. <\/p>\n

\u201cBeneath all the glittering ornaments was a rotting foundation,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

She was facing what she calls the Overachievement Paradox: appearing to have it all yet being discontented. <\/p>\n

As our careers advance, our networking must evolve. Five strategies to network with purpose<\/b><\/a> <\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cIn our 20s, networking often revolves around landing that first or next job. However, as we settle into our careers, we realize that true networking isn\u2019t just about who we know but about the quality of our connections,\u201d says coach, facilitator and speaker Kadine Cooper. <\/p>\n

\u201cJeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, famously said, \u2018Your personal brand is what people say about you when you\u2019re not in the room.\u2019 Networking strategically ensures that what is said about you reflects your strengths, credibility and expertise.\u201d <\/p>\n

In case you missed it<\/p>\n

I find networking events awkward. How can I make the most of them?<\/b><\/a> <\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cTake the pressure off yourself,\u201d says Istiana Bestari, co-founder of networking organization Monday Girl. \u201cWe often worry that we need to impress people at these events and say the perfect thing, like, \u2018I have to say the perfect elevator pitch,\u2019 but I think this is the wrong approach. Instead, walk into every interaction or room with a mindset that says, \u2018I\u2019m going to get to know people. I\u2019m going to focus on genuine curiosity. I\u2019m going to ask thoughtful questions and actively listen.\u2019 It\u2019s about how you can make people feel seen, heard and valued, it\u2019s not about how loud or outgoing you are.\u201d <\/p>\n

Are you reading this newsletter on the web or did someone forward the e-mail to you? If so, you can sign up for the Women and Work newsletter here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Investors look for founders whose passion for their business will see them through…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":45055,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3094],"tags":[23270,24834,24833,9884,51,2847,3134,3395,5036,24836,1197,16220,24832,2978,3322,16,15,24835,24300],"class_list":{"0":"post-45054","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entrepreneurship","8":"tag-adveditorial","9":"tag-adveditorialgwc","10":"tag-advgwcnewsletter","11":"tag-appwebview","12":"tag-business","13":"tag-entrepreneur","14":"tag-entrepreneurship","15":"tag-founders","16":"tag-funding","17":"tag-gwchowto","18":"tag-investment","19":"tag-investors","20":"tag-ordid2896011761ce","21":"tag-small-business","22":"tag-startups","23":"tag-uk","24":"tag-united-kingdom","25":"tag-women-and-work","26":"tag-yespop"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114389782585155400","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45054\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}