By Grace Ueng
Ascending to the Summit of a mountain requires certain specific steps that author and consultant Grace Ueng says translate into steps entrepreneurs can use to succeed. In the latest installment of Ueng’s outline of the steps to ascending the summit in business, she shows how preparing for mountaineering relates to raising capital and finding supporters for a start-up and the importance of avoiding danger.
For Previous installments of Ueng’s outline of “Ten Steps to Reach the Top,” a seminar she presented at North Carolina State University based on her publication “Resolute Ventures: Ascending the Summit…How Mountaineering Prepares for Entrepreneurial Success,” see:
The first two steps to ascending the summit. For part two, see: Ascending the summit: steps three and four ; for part three see: Mountaineering and entrepreneurs: steps 5 and 6.
Here’s the latest installment:
Step 7: Getting sponsors/advocates: Relates to investors, supporters and others.
Whether your business requires outside capital to achieve key milestones is an important decision to make early on. Determine what sources of funding should be raised for working and growth capital. Hire seasoned financial experts to help navigate this trail. Understand your desire for control as the amount of control you retain is inversely related to the amount of capital you may need to raise. If you are successful in raising money, it is important that you see eye to eye with your investors and have the appropriate level and type of involvement from them.
Amazon's Jeff Bezos
Example: Amazon bought Zappos for almost $1B. Jeff Bezos admires Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh and is fully supportive of him.
Having the wrong set of investors could, on the other hand, doom a company. One of our clients had a over involved investor who was trying to snoop into managing day to day operations.
The popular complaint from entrepreneurs is that VCs, who at times, don’t have true entrepreneurial operating experience rather an MBA and perhaps a financial background, want to tell them what to do.
This can be a disaster as the management team needs to focus on building the business – product and customers, and dealing with competitive threats, rather than spending a large pecentage of their time managing their board and investors.
You can never have too many advocates. In a day and age where there is more clutter than ever, having the right sponsors to carry you to the top is absolutely critical. Who can you count on as wanting to be your cheerleader? Having the wrong advisors can be huge opportunity cost and energy sink.
If your venture is self funded by the founding team/friends and family, a well chosen advisory board can be very valuable. Proven and perhaps semi-retired entrepreneurs who have relevant experience and are interested in mentoring the newer generation would be an ideal choice. Learn from those who have a healthy combination of failure and success under their belts as much can be learned through the combination. While much can be learned by failure, they need to have reached levels of success in order to help guide you to yours
Step 8: Avoiding danger: Don’t do unethical things. Avoid toxic people. Be flexible and respond to the right opportunities. Know when to innovate/take risk and when to follow. Know when to take risky routes.
Hiring the right management team who then hires the right managers and team members has a trickle down effect. This mindset is set from the top. Take out toxic people as
quickly as you can to avoid your literal/figurative downfall.
Unlike what one might think, entrepreneurs take researched, careful risk. Knowing when to pull the trigger is a skill that successful entrepreneurs possess.
About the Author
A noted author, consultant, speaker, and teacher, Ueng is the founder and CEO of Savvy Marketing Group, a leading consulting firm, headquartered in Research Triangle Park, NC offering Resolute Ventures and Chief and Crew for Hire services. She and her team work closely with new ventures within Fortune 500 companies as well as later stage ventures maximize their chances for success.
Read her blog: Resolute Adventures (www.resoluteventures.typepad.com). Follow on Twitter
Southeast Venture Conference, February 29 – March 1, 2012 at the Ritz Carlton in Tysons Corner, VA – Where Smart Money Meets Smart People.
www.seventure.org
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