In Chapter 10 of 15 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Hattie Elliot answers "What Advice Do You Have for Small Business Owners Considering Taking on an Investor?" A small business owner who brought on an investor over the past year, Elliot shares three ways to improve the investor solicitation process. First, she notes the importance of doing due diligence to hone a business plan and financial model. Second, using the models, calculate the amount of funding you will need and map the use of funds out over a timeline to make sure you raise the right amount. Third, finding an investor comes down to matchmaking and finding the right person with the right motives to be your business partner.
Hattie Grace Elliot is the founder and CEO of The Grace List, a social networking company that creates destination events and experiences to forge lasting personal and professional connections across its young professional members. Elliot graduated from the University of Cape Town in South Africa, where she studied economics, philosophy, and politics.