# Attracting investment capital
The Hive Learners post prompt was "If you could pitch to investors" and when I saw that prompt my eyes lit up. I was curious what kind of ideas people would pitch. What dreams do people have that they wish they could get money to fund. What juicy avenues of profit would I see. I then read a bunch of articles and was a little sad that I didn't see a hook that made me think "ohhh.....that's a great way to make money". At the end of the day investors are looking to put their capital into an investment that will make them money. My father was an expert at doing that. My father-in-law is also very good at doing that. Both of them looked for ***Opportunity*** wherever it may present itself and Opportunity is what you want to show to an investor.

# A few real world examples
### How would you like to make **One Million Dollars**? That was a pitch my father once made to an investor. Of course the investor was skeptical and said ***"How much do I need to invest?"***. My father replied ***"Nothing"*** Now at this point I'm almost certain that the investor thought my father was nuts. No-one makes a million dollars with no money down. ***Except in this case they did***. However, most people will be curious enough to ask exactly how they can make that much money without cash and while still being legal. Curiosity alone was enough to allow my father to make the pitch. He was a real estate agent and he knew a piece of land that would guarantee a person money because he looked at the full potential of the property. I'll present the conversation: My Father : **"There is a 1000 acre piece of property for sale valued at a million dollars"** Investor : **"I don't have a million dollars and can't get a loan for that much"** Father : **"No problem, I can guarantee you can get the loan and have it paid off within a month"** Investor : **That's crazy. How is that even possible"** Father : **"We talk to the local lumber company. They need wood and the 1000 acres has over a million dollars in timber on it. We get them to survey the land and make you an offer for it"** Investor : **But I don't own the land** Father : **True. But if the lumberyard offers you a million dollars for the timber and you have that offer in writing then the bank will absolutely lend you the money to buy the land** Investor : **So... I get the lumberyard to value the timber, make me an offer, then take that offer to the bank, get the loan, buy the property, get the money from the lumberyard to get the wood, and pay off the loan?"** Father : **Exactly. You get a loan for a million, get a million for the timber, pay off the loan. Now you own a 1000 acre piece of land with no money of your own used** Investor : **But I haven't made any money I just got land** Father : **Exactly. But you spend some money to subdivide the land into 25 x 40 acre parcels and sell each parcel for $40,000. Then you get $1.6 million for the sale** Investor : **Sounds crazy but ok, lets see what the lumberyard has to say**

Well, the lumberyard doesn't buy property but does buy wood. The investor got the contract to buy the timber. The bank loaned the money. The lumberyard paid for the timber. The investor got the title for the land for no money out of pocket. The investor spend a fair amount of money to subdivide the property and sold off 39 of the 40 parcels eventually making him roughly $800,000 and he kept one of the parcels for himself. For no money down the investor made ***almost a million dollars*** and got a free parcel of land. As for my father? He collected a 15% commission on every sale. On the initial land sale? He got a commission of $150,000 from the seller On the subsequent sale of the 39 lots at $40,000 each? He got about another $225,000 End tally : My father made $375,000 in real estate commission The investor made almost one million The lumbaryard got high quality timber to harvest and sell to support the community. **Everyone won** ### But what were the key points to that pitch. * My father saw an opportunity * He was able to clearly show the investor how he could capitalize on the opportunity to make money * My father knew the route, knew the value, knew the pitfalls and was able to get the investors attention long enough to show it.

In many of the articles I read people were telling how they would show their talents and abilities to the investor. They mentioned things like confidence and showing strengths and weaknesses. They mentioned showing imagination, perseverance, ingenuity and more. For my father? It was about confidence, imagination, but mostly? Charisma and a way to present a clear way to make money to the investor.

# But Hive Learners wanted to know how I would present
As much as I wish I was my father, I most certainly am nothing like him. I wish I had his confidence, charisma and easy way of talking to people. I wish I had his contacts, his knack of knowing the value in everything and so much more. However, if I was told I was given the attention of a capable investor? I'd certainly have fun with it as I know potential value when I see it. ### How would I approach it? 1. Confidence and competence 2. A hook 3. A viable return 4. A plan 5. Rebuttals for objections ### Confidence If I need to present to an investor I need to show that I know what I'm talking about and that I am capable of delivering on what I say. I'm not a beggar going in needing money. I'm someone who has a valuable idea that can make both of us money. I go in with the thought that if they say "No" it is their loss and someone else can make money from the offer I'm presenting ### The hook (part one: The problem) Investors want something tangible to evaluate. A visible avenue to profit. Coming in with word like "I'm motivated and able to get things done" aren't very useful to start with. **Everyone** is going to say that they are capable but an investor is more interested in your idea on how to make money and then have you prove yourself capable by making them believe it can work. I would start with a problem that needs solving and any of the following would do: * Diesel prices are outrageous these days and pollution is bad, we can make money and solve part of the problem. * Meat prices keep skyrocketing with many people being unable to afford it, we can make better food for people while making profit for ourself. * Many people are polluting the air by burning plastics over 3 stone fires making a health concern for not only them but everyone else in the city....what if we can make money and solve that issue? * Major events need tickets sold and the current system costs a lot of money and is prone to scammers. How about we make money by making ticket sales easier and resales secure? ### The hook (part two: The Solution and profit teaser) * Diesel prices too high? We can produce up to 7000 liters of biodiesel from one acre of land using palm trees. No foreign tankers required. At current prices that's $14,000 HBD per acre per year with few ongoing costs. ![image.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/terganftp/23xVKE2jzRoGgKyjBGFK1KeyngDL4Zf5Gy8JJvjaMuPa1ZXJ5W49UNkKpMHdioz5zFR7h.png) * If you start with two rabbits and give them space and grass, how many will you have in 3 years. believe it or not 1.5 Billion. If you get two pounds of meat from each one and get $3 per pound that's 4.5 Billion dollars. Side benefit? They eat plain grass. Unlike chickens (which only multiply to 500,000 in 3 years) you don't need expensive feed. ![image.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/terganftp/23vsJFCxkbGuV3MJX6WXh1vDy6UqPxMvKGZmfaVHL5d7KCST9PrEa1WJKwAkc5Us1qsas.png)

* Mud stoves can be created for virtually free (use use dirt, water and fire) and increase fuel efficiency by 4x vs the common 3 stone campfire. If created people burning garbage would at use one quarter the garbage making less pollution for them and for those around them. If we create them for virtually nothing and sell them for cheap? We make money, they breathe less toxic fumes...and everyone in town gets cleaner air. ![image.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/terganftp/23xpCyucVT8PBpy99QtAmauT75p5c7x247xu3kHokYUbKvUAvuRc11aGDzG9ZQxUoxB79.png) Image: Dall-e Cost: virtually nothing. Savings: Uses 1/4 the fuel making 1/4 the pollution

* Hive can create NFT's for cheap. Really cheap. If you turn your concert or other tickets into HIVE NFT's? You can distribute to thousands of people in moments. Each ticket is verifiable and unique and on the resale market it could be 100% safe and trackable so anyone buying a ticket could ensure it is legitimate and direct from the source. Side benefit? Everyone gets to keep the NFT as a collectible which can be bought and sold after the event. ![image.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/terganftp/23uFPcNpyQwp6shawUeMXvLC1veABqG7XRsZGLD7Azf4VJA5wWHVtj3J5d6fp7CfyZbwu.png)

# A viable return
If they are interested in the idea then it is time to show the how they make money. Show them how much they will need to invest, show them how much they can make, show them the numbers that make them think...hmm... this can solve a need, make me money, and has a strong potential to work. Of course there needs to be a plan on how to make it work. Details make the difference. As an example I have land in the Philippines. It is currently pasture land for cows which have a very large need of space and very low increase in number. I know how much grass is produced. I know how many rabbits I can ethically raise. I know how much water they need and so on. From there I can give actual details on what I need, where to get it, and realistic time frame until profitability. **I also know the lands carrying capacity**. Sure rabbits breed like.... well, rabbits.... and theoretically 2 can turn into billions. However, my land size is limited and a pilot project would be hard pressed to feed more than 1000 rabbits at a time with a 2 month turnover. Realistically at $3/head that would be $3,000 HBD on 2 month rotation so about $1,500 a month at small scale. The billion gets them thinking and at incredibly large scale sure it could feed a nation but to start off with? Yeah. Sometimes you give them a hook which gets them interested then hit them with a dose of reality which keeps it grounded. But there will be objections and there will be hurdles. * How do we get people to switch to rabbit? * How do we get them to market? * How do we get them dressed for resale? and so many other issues will come up. Being prepared for the inevitable questions is incredibly important. Knowing the details of the plan, pitfalls, marketing, profitability and so on goes a long way towards showing the investor that *I* am credible and worth taking a risk on

# At the end of the day?
Dealing with an investor is just dealing with another person who happens to have money. It is my job to have a vision of a project that is beneficial financially to them, financially to me, solves a problem at some level, fills a need for the community, environment or other. Then with confidence, planning and details build a rapport around an idea. If that can be done and the plan is sound then my father always used to say that "There is money out there and investors want to invest it to make more money". Then again he also said "Don't be afraid of zero's they are nothing. Who cares how many go after the ONE in the front". That's my take on how I would present myself to investors. Would it work? I like to think so but then again, I'm curious to hear what the Hive community has to say. I love comments and would like to thank you for reading this far. **And just for fun** Have a bit of fun. If you look at the rabbit image you probably glossed over it. Bonus points if you noticed that 1.5 * 3 is only 4.5 not 9. If the investor doesn't notice. The numbers look bigger. If they do notice say something to stroke their ego :) "I threw that in there as an easter egg. Most people don't pay attention to details or do math on the fly... I'm glad you did, it shows you were paying attention and good at math". In that way it isn't a mistake and it strokes their ego just a little bit. A little bit of flattery (when earned) can be a rapport builder. Just saying... :) In honesty though? I caught the error after I finalized the post. I could either fix it or acknowledge it. Sometimes in a presentation things happen and being able to think on your feet and pivot is important.

How Can I Get Customers Phone Numbers For Calling?