Attracting funding for your startup as an entrepreneur is always tough, and for women entepreneurs in Africa, that’s particularly the case. Crack the Funding Code by Judy Robinett is a great new book that aims to demystify the world of angel investing, venture capital, and corporate funding, and lays out a strategic pathway for any entrepreneur to secure funding fast.
Lack of funding is one of the biggest reasons small businesses fail. In 2016 in the United States alone, more than 31 percent of small business owners reported that they could not access adequate capital, and the lack of capital prevented them from growing the business/expanding operations, increasing inventory, or financing increased sales.
Most business owners believe that their only feasible funding options are (1) savings or personal credit, (2) friends and family or (3) bank loans. They may have heard about venture capitalists or angel investors, but they don’t have enough information about what these investors do, what they can provide for a business, and on what terms. What’s worse, entrepreneurs often don’t know how to access the people who are looking to put their money into young companies with potential. Finally, business owners don’t have enough expertise to navigate the treacherous waters of outside funding. Many small companies don’t believe they are the type of company that gets funded. Even when business owners are brave enough to look for the right outside investors, they don’t know how to create the compelling pitches or how to structure the deals that will get them the funding to expand and grow.
In Crack the Funding Code, Judy Robinett will show readers how to find the money, create pitches that attract investors, and then structure fair, ethical deals that will bring them new sources of outside capital and invaluable professional advice. It will give readers the broader perspective—how funding works, how investors think, and what they need to hear to put their money where your mouth is. Every entrepreneur who reads this book will get easy-to-follow deal checklists, a roadmap of where and how to locate the best funding resources and top business mentors for their particular industry and/or geographical location, and a step-by-step process to create pitches that make their idea or business irresistible.
Author quotes
For me, when it comes to the products I invest in, my ‘sweet spot’ is straightforward. Show me a problem, and then convince me that nobody else is solving it the way you are.
Whatever your idea, whatever your business, now is the time to act on your idea. Today, people with money are looking for places to invest, and there’s more money than there are good deals. But you’ve got to know where the money is and how to present your ideas successfully.
I believe this is the greatest time ever for anyone to become an entrepreneur, because the world has changed….. We’re now in the gig economy, where people work for themselves or on contract, so they don’t have to work nine to five. What that means is that no one has to quit a job to start a company.
About the Author
Judy Robinett is a business thought leader who is known as “the woman with the titanium digital Rolodex.” She has been profiled in Inc., Forbes, Venture Beat, Huffington Post, and Bloomberg Businessweek as a sterling example of the new breed of “super connectors” who use their experience and networks to accelerate growth and enhance profitability. In her more than 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur and corporate leader, Judy has served as the CEO of both public and private companies and in management positions at Fortune 500 companies. She has been on the advisory boards of Illuminate Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California; Pereg Ventures, a venture capital firm based in New York; and Springboard Enterprises based in Washington, DC. She was a managing director of Golden Seeds Angel Network (the third most active angel investment group and one of the largest in the U.S.); the CEO of publicly traded Medical Discoveries; and she served on the faculty of Goldman Sachs’s 10,000 Small Businesses program. She consults internationally with businesses looking for U.S. investors. Judy was a member of the Department of Commerce team that defined performance criteria for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Performance Excellence in Healthcare, for which she received an award from President Bill Clinton. She has given over 400 speeches worldwide and is the coauthor of a chapter in "Crowdfunding for Dummies”. She lives near Salt Lake City, Utah.
Why LoA loves it….
As entrepreneurs, we all have the passion and the conviction that our businesses and the products and services we create have value and are worthy of investment when we reach that critical next stage growth period. But convincing others, particularly investors, of the worthiness of our businesses and what that investment could do to take our companies to the next level, is a completely different challenge. That’s when specialist expertise, advice and guidance is needed, and that’s where Judy Robinett’s new book becomes a must-read. It brings a wealth of practical, no-nonsense information and advice to the table for any woman entrepreneur who is preparing to pitch. --- Melanie Hawken, founder and ceo of Lionesses of Africa