Inside the Mind of a Venture Capitalist

Cheap space travel, sentient AI, vacation rental homes. Wildly successful startups can be founded around concepts ranging from the impossible to the every day. Of course, the intellectual powerhouses behind such ideas are to be credited, but said powerhouses could not get off the ground without the help of venture capitalists.

Venture capitalists and investors who look to invest in early stage startups with ideas that they find promising. They invest in both the team behind the idea, and the idea itself, as they want the startup to become successful enough to produce significant returns. Whether you’re looking for some seed money for a venture of your own, or want to become a venture capitalist yourself, the following is a list of traits and signs that venture capitalists generally look for.

Enthusiasm

This seems basic enough, but think back to presenting projects on dry history topics at school. When you’re not interested in what you’re presenting, the audience can pick up on that, and its infectious. Venture capitalists want to see entrepreneurs who are excited about their idea and plan- no matter how outlandish or simple it may seem. Enthusiasm in presentation and work ethic is the key to the hearts of seed investors. After all, if you’re not excited about your own idea, why should anyone else be?

Growth Sectors

Venture capitalists want to see something new, which is hard to achieve in an area that is already full of innovation and answers. Entrepreneurs should focus on “growth sectors”, which right now are pretty tech heavy, but also include medicine and clean energy. Getting into a growth sector doesn’t mean you need to be a silicon-valley genius- but venture capitalists will want to see some semblance of guaranteed growth even in an initial business plan, so alluding to known growth sectors could really resonate.

Of course, every venture capitalist is different- they are all humans in the end. However, given the nature of their profession, the above strategies are pretty foolproof in helping entrepreneurs get their initial funding, and giving investors peace of mind about the safety of their money.