| Yes to have a pot of money simplifies life and | | | | amount of time it took the first one to fail, the |
| removes a number of complications, but is that the | | | | second supported 12 employees and became cash |
| right short term goal? The amount of time that you | | | | flow positive from its 6th month. Today the |
| spend searching for venture capital, may be better | | | | businesses grosses 260,000 dollars in revenues in a |
| utilized working with customers, building a product, | | | | country where the average per capita income is less |
| figuring out how to get to revenues and getting your | | | | than 800 dollars a year. Yes it is small but it is ours. |
| business closer to your next big productive milestone. | | | | If you run a small profitable business or would like to |
| I say this because I have had two different | | | | run one and are not the sharing kind, venture capital |
| experiences. My first involved spending more than | | | | is not a good fit for your future plans. Venture capital |
| two years looking for elusive VC cash, ignoring real | | | | is expensive risky debt with very onerous terms. The |
| customers who could have supported and carried the | | | | terms make sense when you have pre-established |
| business further. End result - death by business plan | | | | credibility, need to hit key milestones quickly, grow to |
| rewrites and the search for a better valuation. | | | | a certain size inorganically, change the world in a |
| My second experience involved building a business | | | | short span of time AND are indifferent to who ends |
| from scratch with no VC funding at all. In the same | | | | up with the business you have built with your hands. |