Series | Insights into investor processes
Advice instead of mediation – why this difference determines the success of the investor search
Many entrepreneurs assume that a successful search for investors is primarily a question of having the right contacts. If the right investor is found, it is assumed that this will almost automatically lead to financing.
In practice, however, the picture is different.
Investor processes rarely fail because there are no investors. They often lose momentum because a crucial difference is underestimated:
Is it about mediation – or sound advice?
Pure brokerage focuses primarily on establishing contacts. Companies are introduced to potential investors, meetings are organized and interests are matched.
But an investor process consists of much more than just contacts.
Investors do not make their decisions spontaneously. They want to understand
– how the business model works
– how the company is positioned in the market
– what growth prospects exist
– and how the economy may develop in the future.
In many investor processes, the preparation phase is therefore decisive in determining whether an investor continues to pursue the process or drops out at an early stage.
If key questions about the market, competition or financial planning cannot be answered clearly, uncertainty arises – and uncertainty is usually a signal for investors to withdraw from the process.
A structured consulting approach therefore starts much earlier.
In our practice, an investor search never begins with approaching investors. The first step is always a systematic analysis of the company: business model, market position, competitive situation and growth prospects are worked through together.
This forms the basis for a clear investment case that is comprehensible and convincing for investors.
Only then does the structured approach to suitable investors begin.
The difference between mediation and consulting therefore lies not only in the scope of the service, but above all in the depth of the engagement with the company.
Investor processes are not contact mediation.
They are strategic projects.
And that is precisely why a successful search for investors does not begin with approaching investors, but with developing a convincing investment case.