Venture Capital can trace its roots back to the days of kings and queens funding shipping expeditions. In the middle of last century it shifted from being adventure capital and into high technology venture capital. By the 1990′s it had further morphed from a cottage industry into a billion dollar business.
Fast forward to today and venture capital is no longer seen as a form of alternate asset investment. It is a trillion dollar commoditised industry. In many respects venture capital has adopted Wall St-like strategies with sky high valuations and cash being thrown at ideas in what is more and more resembling a feeding frenzy.
Now, there’s a new breed of investor on the horizon, the Entrepreneurial Investor.
Entrepreneurship is the creation of opportunities regardless of resources currently controlled. By its nature, entrepreneurs have the capacity to develop high growth ventures based on leveraged deal opportunities on top of a solid foundation of venture value and strength, combined with, as Entrepreneurial Investor Rand Leeb-du Toit states, personal focus, accountability and balance.
Bootstrapping startups maintains focus, evaluates return on time and energy and ignites creative approaches that are required to trigger high growth. After all, the GFC proved neo-classical thinking defunct and that our world is one of economic unpredictability, thereby requiring solid foundations in startups to be evolutionary and adaptable to change, capable of seizing the opportunity in every moment. In such an environment, the capacity for entrepreneurship is more valuable than cash.
How can startups most effectively be entrepreneurial?
We know it’s not by old-school cash investment.
Rather, it’s by working in alignment with this new breed of entrepreneurial investor who invests their time, energy, resources and network into developing both the founder and their startup, with priceless experience, insight and capacity to make things happen.
These new Entrepreneurial Investors bring exponentially stronger value than cash.
Entrepreneurial Investors are far more than a mentor, coach, advisor or investor. As Rand Leeb-du Toit looks for the propensity of focus, accountability and balance in the entrepreneurs he is prepared to work with, he also displays those characteristics himself. As a result he is very much on board and on team with a vested personal interest, commitment and dedication to the success of both the founder and their startup.
Entrepreneurial Investors only choose a small number of founders and startups to work with at any given time, so their investment portfolios are selectively chosen and developed with passion.
Right now, Rand has a limited number of spots remaining in his portfolio and, much like his venture capital counterparts, prefers a trusted referral to cold calls.
“In my 30 year career I’ve never been more excited than I am right now by what entrepreneurs, armed with a laser-like focus, prepared to hold themselves accountable and with a balanced approach can achieve, ” says Rand.
