No matter what you invest in, completing your due diligence and researching a company is critical. You need to know the company thoroughly before one cent of your hard-earned money is invested.
At Money Morning, we do extremely rigorous research for you. We only show you the kind of opportunities that will hand you the biggest profits.
And that’s exactly what I want to talk to you about today.
You see, investing in startups allows you to make returns 10, 100, even 1,000 times greater than what’s possible on the stock market.
And despite what most people believe, you don’t need millions to get started. In fact, you don’t even need experience as an angel investor.
Finding the best startup – the kind that can turn a small stake into thousands, even millions of dollars – doesn’t come down to some mathematical formula or a gut feeling.
It’s all about who’s going to be in charge.
Angel investors have a saying about choosing winners: “Invest in founders, not in startups.”
Good ideas are everywhere. Great founders, however, are rare. A great founder has the ability to transform those ideas into a product that customers are willing and eager to pay for.
The founders are the only ones with the power to execute their unique vision. That makes them responsible for absolutely everything, from money management to product development to branding and more.
Of course, the business model needs to make sense, too. But if the team isn’t right, the business won’t make it.
That’s why it’s critical that you be able to identify a star founder when you see one…
In fact, studies show that 23% of failed startups cite a bad team dynamic as their reason for collapse. It’s like building a house on a sinkhole – eventually, it’s going to cave in.
So today, I’ve compiled the three traits that make a star founder. Then I’ll show how you can get in on the ground floor of an amazing opportunity with one of the best founders in the business…[mmpazkzone name="in-story" network="9794" site="307044" id="137008" type="4"]
No. 1: Find a Founder with a Solid Track Record
It’s always a good sign when the founder of a business has a history of success building companies.
Most startups won’t have much of a track record when they’re seeking angel investments… they are new, after all.
But their founders might.
We have way more confidence in a seasoned entrepreneur who has already steered a startup to an exit than in a first-timer. Launching a successful business is a tricky channel to navigate, but a founder who already knows the route is less likely to run aground (i.e., crash and burn) or sink (run out of cash and disappear).
How founders navigate this process is important, too. It can be hard to tell what goes on behind the scenes, but…
No. 2: Look for Founders Who Plan Ahead and Follow Through
Agility is key when you’re building a business. Customers change, markets change, and therefore, plans must also change sometimes to meet the shifting tide. The question is whether the founders are prepared to roll with the punches.
Are they overly committed to a single version of their plan, or are they willing to adapt if part of their vision isn’t working? Are they effective decision-makers, or do they toil in deliberation much longer than they should?
Keep an eye on their process for getting things done. Quick and effective turnaround times for task lists and short-term goals is a good indicator of an efficient and agile system.
Also look for founders who have intellectual property. Going through the legwork to legally protect an idea is a good sign that the founder has thought ahead.
It also indicates that the founders are dedicated and passionate enough to stand by their business in the long run, which brings me to my last point…
No. 3: The Most Important Thing for an Entrepreneur – Passion
Think about it – finding investors is the toughest thing a startup founder has had to do so far, but really, it’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Running the business is going to get a thousand times harder as it grows; there will be books to balance, staff to manage, IT roadblocks, competitors and copycats, good and bad publicity… the list goes on.
A founder might go a year – or five – making no salary whatsoever, all while spending 60 to 80 hours a week working on their company.
That’s a grueling workweek, even for those who come out the other side with a generous paycheck.
Founders won’t take vacations… will have no real breaks… and will live and breathe their business for the first five to 10 years, if not for the rest of their lives.
See, when you’re the founder, you are ultimately responsible for every problem, big or small. Think you can shut your phone off for a weeklong getaway to Paris?
Think again! What if your staff clashes or quits? What if legal troubles arise? What if there’s a PR scandal that requires your attention?
It’s not just your name on the line – it’s a lot of your money, a lot of other folks’ money, your lifelong reputation as an entrepreneur, and your company’s future.
Many founders don’t quite know what they’re getting into. They have a great idea, but they think of it as more of a side hustle.
Generally, those founders don’t have what it takes. It doesn’t matter how good the idea is – it’s their blood, sweat, and tears that grow that idea and eventually build it into a business.
In the beginning, the only difference between an idea and a business is the founders. So ask yourself this before you fall in love with just the idea: “Can I count on these people, in this business, and in this market, to turn my investment into more money?”
So make sure you complete your due diligence, vet every member of every project, and don’t settle for anything less than the qualities I’ve laid out here.
And before you go, I want to offer you a chance to join this wildly successful tech CEO in the early stages of his next startup…
You see, the last time this founder launched a startup, he turned it into a Fortune 500 company and generated $147 million for his early investors within five years.
That company now sits at the forefront of a $96 billion market – odds are you own its products.
Now, this CEO is launching his next venture. And in this presentation, we’re sharing all the details on how you can join him…