Ghatim Kabbara: “Your story has to be something that makes them dream….”
The Art of Selling Your Idea to an Investor You spent hours and hours working on the details of your product, perfecting your idea or your prototype. You know you have something great and with the right investor this startup will be a great success. So what will it take to make an investor eager to inject money into your idea? TEXT BY FARAH DIBAH AYOUBI
According to Ghatim Kabbara, Founder and Managing Director of Blue Ocean Consulting Group, many startups lack an effective story that will sell their idea to an investor. They spend a lot of time developing their product, but stop short at getting someone to invest in their startup business.
Perfection?
Kabbara urges, “Lots of people think the product has to be perfect. But it will
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CURAÇAO BUSINESS
never be perfect. You just have to start.” Products such as Coca Cola, Marlboro and Windows are great examples of how a product will still sell regardless of its imperfections. “At what version of Windows are we today? I’ve lost count,” adds Kabbara. Strong advertising that makes consumers warm up to the product is more powerful than the perfect product details. So maybe it is time you stopped focusing on the product attributes
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and spend more time figuring out how it impacts your potential consumers.
Storytelling time
To pitch to your potential investor you need a great story. When it comes to storytelling to get an investor on board it’s all about creating excitement and projecting a successful outcome. •C ome up with something that makes people dream. A story that your investor wants to believe in too. •T hink about why you are here. The best way to get an investor excited is to make him/her relate to the impact you are going to make on the community or a particular market. Are you trying to make people’s lives easier? Is it that you want people to feel a certain way? Happy or stress-
