Most investors suffer from a disease – the fear of missing out (FOMO). This disease heavily influences how entrepreneurs are treated, especially those hoping for an investment decision. Most business deals conclude with a definitive “yes” or “no.” Not so with FOMO, which has struck “no” from most investors’ vocabularies. They simply can’t say it because they don’t want to miss out on what could be a great investment. By not giving you a definitive “no,” they’ve left the door open if they decide to walk through it later. Since you’ll rarely hear “no” outright, FOMO causes a lot of false hope and wasted energy.
Many entrepreneurs think, “They haven’t said ‘no’ and they keep meeting with us, so they must still be interested, right?” Wrong. They won’t reject you because you might either 1) get a lot of traction or 2) get other big-name investors interested. If either happens, they still have the option to invest.
Fundraising is so time-consuming that it can suck the life out of you, so try to determine as early as possible who is stringing you along and who is actually serious. Don’t waste your time on FOMO investors – you’ve got a business to build.
