Compulsory reading for Start-ups

Do you lie about closing deals with big-name clients?

Do you paint a picture that is rosy and perfect?

Do you inflate your financial projections?

These are some questions Walta Kazzi – 2014 BRW Rich Young Lister – maintains are common mistakes Start-up founders make in fund raising, shared in his excellent post, Start-up fundraising – Lessons we learnt, the dos, don’t, how to, tips and examples.

HERE are other points from the post that resonated with me:

– Your mindset matters. This reminded me of the quote of the legendary author of the Little Red Book of Selling, Jeffrey Gitomer…If you are not on fire, you’ll lose to someone who is.

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How accurate is your perception of yourself?

Ten plus years ago I asked a group of my business friends the following question.

Here’s the question:

How do I fool myself by holding a perception that is greater or lesser that reality?

Only one friend friend responded – but his responses were invaluable.

My view is, that the syntax of the question was a key to prompting my friend to respond and providing great feedback.

By the way one of the valuable pieces of feedback was…

“Michael you come across as a bit of a know-it-all.”

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