Product first, Business fast

How would I describe myself if raising a funding round? Here’s a typical boilerplate:

“MBA with 5 years of startup operational experience and investment roles with leading accelerator and family office.”

(I know, super lame)

I’ve recently spoken to many-an-entrepreneur with similar credentials. They came from a nifty operations/consulting/banking role, then did an MBA, and are now raising money for the next big thing.

Heck, it’s the “perfect” marriage of hands-on experience with strategic knowledge. But how does an investor view this background? Personally, I only think of one thing: Do they love building products?

Because that’s what tech companies do – they build products. And the best tech company founders I’ve seen are obsessed with their product. They love customer feedback, they’re freaks about metrics, they love lean.Watch Full Movie Streaming Online and Download

Yeah, biz dev/partnerships/managing are all important, but at the end of the day even with awesome relationships if users don’t like your product, you’re screwed.

So, how about this?

“Product-obsessed operations expert, turned investor”

(Still too lame)

Some say their co-founder is an awesome dev. Others plan on hiring a rockstar CTO post-raise. In my opinion, a startup CEO should own their product from day 1. If they don’t, who will?

If this same product-obsessed CEO happens to have a Harvard MBA and came from Goldman/Deloitte/Citi… great! Just don’t let that be the first thing you lead with. It makes you sound like a banker who doesn’t know shit about building a tech product.

So, what’s a super-bright Harvard MBA from Deloitte to do? I call it:

Product First, Business Fast (1)

That’s right, lead strong with your absolute love of product. Make an investor believe all you think of is how to build the world’s best website/app/whatever. On top of that, show how you’ve been honing your product skills – even if it’s just side projects.

If you’re really ballsy, don’t even bring up your sweet MBA/experience. At some point investors will realize you’re better than most when it comes to fundraising, managing, etc. So why even bring it up?

With this in mind, if I were pitching to investors here’s the preferred boilerplate:

“Startup operations junky with a passion for building products and working with entrepreneurs”

All of the above if factually true… I love building products and working with entrepreneurs. Even if it leaves out the MBA and investor roles, who cares – isn’t an initial pitch supposed to spur interest? It’s not like submitting a visa application.

As long as you have a rationale and some backing for the description, I suggest focusing initial investor discussions on your love for building products. Bring up academic record and business credentials later – as a nice surprise after you’ve sold them on an amazing product vision.

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(1) Yes, of course this is a take from Mobile First Web Second, Web Second Mobile First,