This article is written by Nardine B. M’barek, a Contributor Author at Startup Istanbul.
Since Mr. Tim Draper was out guest during Startup Istanbul 2017, we took the chance to conduct a small interview with him. Being a leading and well-recognized entrepreneur in the world, Mr. Draper has done many investments in the long term run including Skype and Hotmail. He has also attributed the World Entrepreneurship Forum’s “Entrepreneur for the World” in 2015.
It is not an easy thing to be an investor. You are going to put your money on the line while knowing that you can lose it at any moment. The fact that thousands of dollars, or sometimes millions even of your own money are at stake, you are going to be obliged to take your time, and thinking a lot when choosing an entrepreneur or a company to invest in.
This task in itself is a little bit hard. It is not easy to find someone who will prove to you that they are worth your money, and whom will make you trust them quickly and easily. For that purpose, Mr. Tim Draper, our honorable guest during Startup Istanbul, gave us valuable tips regarding how to choose that person who is going to have it all.
The first thing that Mr. Draper does and thinks of when checking an entrepreneur or a company, is whether the product or the idea that they are trying to promote is going to bring some noticeable change in the industry it falls under, is that industry in itself in need a change, and whether that product getting the investment is really something transformative. Yo can certainly not invest in something that is going to be a mimetic product or idea of what has been done before, you need something original, something that is not only going to bring you some considerate amount of profit, but would also profit the whole world through bringing change.
If the idea you are considering as a potential investment falls under the umbrella of the creative ones that bring change to the world, then you need to check the one who thought of that idea. Is she or he enthusiastic enough about what they are going to do if they get your investment? The most important thing about the entrepreneur you are going to give your money to is that they need to be in love of what they are doing, and ready to do anything to make it successful and as astonishing as you expect it to be.
You need to ask your entrepreneur “why are you doing this?” and see what they give back to you as an answer. It should probably be an answer that is precise enough and customer-centered most of the times. They will look determined, and worthy of all the dollars you are potentially going to spend on them.
Entrepreneurs who give you good answers, and who succeed in convincing you are the ones whom you need to invest in. However, even if that entrepreneur seems really great to you, and looks as if she or he is going to be very successful, you need to expect losing money almost 60% of the times you invest in, as much as you should expect to win every time as well. Being an investor is mainly about making the best choices during the perfect moments, and that is exactly what you need to do.
