Ryan Wilson is the co-founder and CEO of The Gathering Spot, a private membership network that serves as a hub for collaboration, connections and experiences.
On July 27, he attended the NBMBAA Atlanta chapter pitch competition at the Buckhead Club for a fireside chat with Joe Faxio, lieutenant director of economic development.
Wilson shared some tips for entrepreneurs seeking potential investors.
From an entrepreneur’s standpoint, what are some tips for those seeking investors?
First is this the person that understands what you’re building and why you’re building it? … Do they get what you’re doing and do they get why you’re doing it? Beyond that, are they going to be helpful, like truly helpful? We all know a lot of people, but do you have the capacity as an organization to be helpful?
A lot of our businesses attract high-net-worth folks that come out of athletics and entertainment. There’s nothing wrong with that capital, I have a lot of great people at our cap table, but I am not big into equity for any cash. For my business, I need money. I don’t need exposure, tweets, and posts. Depending on what you’re doing, do it I guess, but [entrepreneurs] need cash, which comes from customers. I’m big on, don’t fall for the, “I’ll help you out for 10 percent, and I’ll post about you a lot.” Unless there’s a real strong metrics around what those posts are going to generate and what happens when they don’t, I’m not getting anywhere close to 10. Those are the highlights. They have to understand what you’re doing, understand the model, and truly believe in them.
Good investors are going to spend the time doing that work anyway, you have to make sure that you all see eye to eye. You don’t want to be in your first board meeting, where the person is saying to you, “Well, I thought that you were going to do “x” for what you said you were going to do.” Get all the stuff out early … With respect to folks that invest capital, this is more direct to the entrepreneurs, we are the people day in and day out shooting in the gym. We need investors, thank you. You’re wonderful, and we couldn’t do it without you but at the end of the day, you have to get to a place where you say, “While you are important in this engagement, I am too.”
