This is actually a weasel sentence for "you are too poor" and it's kind of patronising. What do they expect to happen if solo entrepreneur get hit by a bus? That he or she has like a dead man switch that will send over all the business secrets, IP, passwords etc to a trusted person to ensure continuity?
In reality the rich look for business run by someone with generational wealth or someone who already made it and they don't trust the poor. There is an exception if they want to make a token investment, like helping the poor or disadvantaged will get them a badge in their social circle or they need it for PR.
People run their business on their own mostly because they don't have money to hire a team that will "survive" owner being hit by a bus.
So if a potential investor asks that question, it's better to politely turn them down. They are not genuine.
(I attended many seminars for angel investors, VC funds etc. and that's my take away)
> "what happens if you get hit by a bus?" or b) create a product for customers to whom that doesn't matter.
I simply read this as "what guarantee do I (the customer) have that you'll be around tomorrow?" I don't see where investors come in to this piece of advice.
If a big company takes a risk in locking in to your product, they want some assurances (I've seen them ask for stuff like business continuity plans, code escrow, etc.)
This is assuming someone looking for funding doesn't want to use to money to ensure the business is going to be around tomorrow and it kind of feeds into the prejudice.
I mean, what else someone would be looking to get investment for?
> This is actually a weasel sentence for "you are too poor" and it's kind of patronising. What do they expect to happen if solo entrepreneur get hit by a bus? That he or she has like a dead man switch that will send over all the business secrets, IP, passwords etc to a trusted person to ensure continuity?
They don't expect anything. They just want to know what will happen in that instance. Most companies derisk this by hiring other people, even though that drastically reduces profits. Telling people why they should feel patronised by reasonable questions is not going to help them navigate reality.
> In reality the rich look for business run by someone with generational wealth or someone who already made it and they don't trust the poor.
This just isn't the case. No one cares about suppliers with generational wealth. If a solopreneur dies and their AWS account gets locked out and their service dies it's not about generational wealth. These memes just get in the way of thinking.
I'm not saying you're wrong (I've never tried to raise a round!) but I meant that in the context in which I've encountered it, which is in sales to enterprise/larger users who absolutely do expect that if I am hit by a bus there is someone else who can ensure continuity of service.
>What do they expect to happen if solo entrepreneur get hit by a bus?
Something as simple as knowing that they can get all their data out of your system and into a similar one is already some points on the board, here. Not as reassuring as a team behind you, but it is something.
I also think (a) it's not patronising, and (b) even if it were, taking exception to that perceived patronisation would not be a useful way to increase your chances of business success.
This is actually a weasel sentence for "you are too poor" and it's kind of patronising. What do they expect to happen if solo entrepreneur get hit by a bus? That he or she has like a dead man switch that will send over all the business secrets, IP, passwords etc to a trusted person to ensure continuity?
In reality the rich look for business run by someone with generational wealth or someone who already made it and they don't trust the poor. There is an exception if they want to make a token investment, like helping the poor or disadvantaged will get them a badge in their social circle or they need it for PR.
People run their business on their own mostly because they don't have money to hire a team that will "survive" owner being hit by a bus.
So if a potential investor asks that question, it's better to politely turn them down. They are not genuine.
(I attended many seminars for angel investors, VC funds etc. and that's my take away)