Stephen Alala, co-founder of SoftLaw once told me an interesting story about a lawyer who while doing an assignment for a venture capital firm was so enthralled by the work that he decided to quit the practice and join the angel investors. At the next meeting with the other angels, intending to wow the board he excitedly gave a presentation on a new business venture that would make the firm triple-digit returns on their investment. He was therefore surprised that after he finished his pitch the expressions on the faces of the board members all around the table were unimpressed, bored, and even disgusted. One of the friendlier faces explained the mood with a question "it's all well and good that this idea can make money, but will it race up my pulse, make my mouth dry, keep me from sleeping at night, and wake me up early in the morning twitching and excited?" Simply put, these angel investors had already made tons of money, and that alone could not excite them. What the
Thoughts from a Kenyan entrepreneur passionate about startups.