Recently, the start-up topics have been the media headlines, which intrigued us and we decided to look into the matter and try to provide an answer to the very low rate (2%) of successful fundraising, which the article’s author explains with six sins.
Above all, we do think that there has been much emphasis and enthusiasm on start-up as a way to launch businesses, which has been inflated by the media; we don’t say that start-up is like a scoop, we do say that it has been overstated before evidence.
The “sins” listed in the article should be called and actually are missing points made by the fundraisers. On top of everything, there is a basic question: HOW TO SWITCH AN IDEA INTO A PROJECT: the former although being a good one isn’t a venture, the latter should comply with the feasibility criteria along with justifications and assumptions.
By and large, inventors aren’t necessarily entrepreneurs: they have different ways of working and other backgrounds as well. Working on an idea that has been well elaborated in a laboratory with a complete formula isn’t like running it as a business and to make it happens deserves an entrepreneurial spirit.
In the above understanding, we tried to match what the author said with what we did in presenting the Project JAMBO FUND.
Going through the article’s recommendations to avoid failures, we can say that the presentation of JAMBO FUND, since the very first announcement, avoided the “six sins” and the “Seven questions about JAMBO FUND ”, are a further justification in support of the Project (https://www.linkedin.com/post/edit/6275982994779971584): the Post spelled out the reasoning behind and why the Investors should endorse it (see also: https://ascaniograziosi.net/blog, which give account of the research we did).
We investigated on the international context and reviewed the narrative of Africa’s development trend; then, we completed the exercise with findings and conclusions, which drove to the design of JAMBO FUND AS A GATEWAY TO AFRICA’s INCLUSIVE GROWTH: vision, mission, assumptions, justifications, objectives, target. In addition to, we provided the Project with both a Model: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6256035102674026496/ and indicated our career as a field man with expertise on the funds matters.
In our line of business – financing projects – which is the relevant missing point? Taking from our field experience, we witnessed situations where projects failed because of the shortage of the necessary working capital or its size wasn’t appropriate for the business inception’s length. When the lenders financed such projects without investigating on the working capital, they lost the money lent out: the borrowers became defaulters. Combien de fois nous avons réitéré le message sur l’importance du Fond de Roulement, à l’époque des missions dans l’Afrique Sub-Saharien ?
Fundraising is a serious matter and currently, even training courses are proposed on the subject: converting people’s failures into an opportunity!
Ascanio Graziosi 