Entrepreneur David Cummings urges patience in initial meeting with a potential investor
"One of the common mistakes I see entrepreneurs make when pitching investors is regarding the ask," he writes.
David Cummings, Founder of Atlanta Tech Village and also Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Atlanta Ventures, writes in a recent column (look for the second article after the currently posted one) about what we might describe as “jumping the gun” when entrepreneurs meet with potential investors.
“One of the common mistakes I see entrepreneurs make when pitching investors is regarding the ask,” he writes. “See, the ask is one of the critical components of the meeting, only entrepreneurs take it too far. Too many work on getting to an investment decision in the first or second meeting, Will you invest in us?’ Instead, entrepreneurs need to sell hard on getting to the next step, not the final sale.”
Noting that things were a little different several years ago, he offers a couple of suggestions for entrepreneurs willing to be more patient.
