早期的風投爲投資公司增值的3個方式

With investors deploying record amounts of capital, founders and executive in search of cash don't have to look too hard for it these days. But it's important to remember that not all investment dollars are created equal. The right investors add value to their portfolio companies in a number of ways, bending the long odds of startup success in the founder's favor.

隨着投資者的資本投入不斷創造新記錄，尋求現金的創業者和執行官這些天不需要太辛苦的找錢了。但是切記，不是所有的美元投資都生而平等。正確的投資者以很多方式爲他們的資產管理公司增值，在有利於創業者的情況下尋求初創者成功的長期機會。

Here are three different ways early-stage investors can bring value to their portfolio companies.

這裏有早期的投資者給他們的資產管理公司帶來效益的三種不同方式。

Experience and expertise

經驗與專業

Experience is one of the critical ingredients an investor brings to the party. Often, as founders themselves, they've walked in the entrepreneur's shoes and have faced the same challenges before. Alternatively, they're career investors who've seen a boatload of portfolio companies jump over the same obstacles.

經驗是一個投資者帶給組織最重要的組成部分。通常，創始人自身，站在企業家的角度並且以前已經面對相同的挑戰。或者，他們是已經看到一打資產管理公司邁過這些坎的有經驗的投資者。

Either way, they've seen many of these movies before. Take advantage of their pattern recognition and eagle-eye view on your industry landscape to get insights into where things are headed and what competitors and other startups in your field might be working on. It's your job to find the investor with the right expertise and lean on it heavily.

另一種方式，是他們以前已經看到這種場景很多次了。利用他們對你行業的模式識別和鷹眼觀察來洞察事情的走向以及你所在領域的競爭者和其他初創者在幹什麼。尋找到有正確專業技能的投資者並多多依靠他們。

Expertise is worthless without availability, however. While a potential investor may have helped build Facebook from 1 million to 2 billion users, how available will that expertise be to you? An unavailable superstar is just a check in the bank or a name on the cap table. An investor with too many portfolio companies can also be a red flag, as their attention will be spread thin. The right investors not only invest their dollars, but also their time and expertise.

然而，沒有可能性，專業性是沒用的。當一個潛在的投資者能幫助Facebook從一百萬增長到二十億用戶，那項專業性怎麼能到你這？不能利用的超級明星只是銀行裏的一張支票或者市值表裏的一個名字。與許多資產管理公司有關聯的一個投資者也會亮紅燈，因爲他們的注意力被攤薄了。正確的投資者不止投資金錢，也包括他們的時間和專業性。

Important caveat: Not every founder needs a VC to take a hands-on approach. For rocketship startups, the best way for VCs to add value is often just to write a check and get out of the way.

重要警告：不是每個創始人都需要天使投資來採取一個動手實踐的辦法。對一個太空船的初創者，天使投資增值的最好方式是常常只是寫個支票並離開。

Company building

公司建設

Expertise is great, but ultimately a business that doesn't hire good people and grow revenue is not going to be successful. The right investors can help you with the day-to-day drudgery of building a company.

專業性是非常好的，但最終一項生意不僱傭好人才實現收益是不會走向成功的。正確的投資者能夠幫助你在日復一日的乏味工作裏建設一個公司。

When an investor comes on board, their network should become your network. They should introduce you to potential exec hires or connect you to business development leads. As part of an investor's diligence, they may call potential customers that they can connect you to during their process, adding value regardless of whether an investment comes through. The right investors also raise the profile of their portfolio companies through press connections or inside access to events through speaker slots or free passes.

當一個投資者進入董事會，他們的網絡應該成爲你的網絡。他們應該將你介紹給潛在的管理者僱員或者將你與商務開發領袖聯繫起來。

Don't be afraid to regularly ask your investors for help. VCs aren't passive bankers –they're network-rich former entrepreneurs or industry folks who invested precisely because they felt that their unique backgrounds allowed them to give you a competitive advantage. They have skin in the game and your success is their success.

不要擔心一直需要你的投資者幫忙。天使基金不會消極對待精確投資的銀行家-他們是網絡-富裕的前企業家們或者行業同仁，因爲他們感到獨特的背景將會使他們給你一個競爭優勢。他們共擔風險，你的成功也就是他們的成功。

Future financing and exits

未來財務與離開

Part of your startup's journey is to grow in revenue and valuation, raising steadily more and more money from different kinds of investors. The right investor will add value by helping you complete your next round of fundraising by connecting you to their VC community network. If you happen to be the belle of the ball and spoiled for choice among investors at the next stage, your current investor can provide insights into your options.

你的初創旅程的一部分就是擴大財政收入和價值，穩定提高從不同類型的投資者中獲利金額。正確的投資者將會通過把你融入他們的天使社區裏來幫助你完成下一輪融資實現增值。如果你碰巧是舞會上的美女，並且在下一階段被投資者們的選擇寵壞了，現在的投資者可能會對你的選擇提供深入洞察。

Finally, investors can help you decide when and how to exit your company. They have either exited their own companies or helped their portfolio companies do the same, so they are well equipped to help you reach a successful outcome. They can intro you to the right corp dev people and provide strategic advice as conversations progress. When conversations progress far along enough, they can help you sift through matters of culture fit, post merger integration, value capture in an earn-out deal, and of course, deal terms and price.

最後，投資者能幫助你決定什麼時候以及如何離開公司。他們或者是離開了自己的公司或者幫助他們的資產管理公司做了同樣的事，所以他們已經被武裝好來幫助你達到成功的結果。他們能夠給你介紹合適的公司開發人員，並提供策略性的建議作爲談話進程。當談話進程足夠遠，他們在一項盈利能力支付交易中，當然是交易條款和價格，能幫助你篩選出切合的文化事件、併購整合和價值獲取。

Get a full-time cheerleader

找一個全職的拉拉隊長

Investors add value in two primary ways: their internal attributes and their external resources. Internal attributes are the expertise they bring and the willingness and availability they have to share it with you. External resources refer to the network they can deploy on your behalf, whether it's a megaphone in the press or a whisper in the ear of the right corp dev exec. The best early-stage investors add value on both sides of the coin.

投資者通過兩個主要方式增值：內部特徵及外部資源。內部特徵是他們帶過來的專業性以及願意並能夠與你分享。外部資源是他們能代表你開發的資源，無論是在發佈會的一個擴音喇叭或者是在合適的公司首席的耳朵旁的一次低語。最好的早期投資者在這兩個方面都增值。

Ultimately, you want a true consigliere that you can call day or night to ask for advice, not just someone who reports for duty at board meetings. Running a company is a 24/7 endeavor – investing in one shouldn't be the domain of part-time cheerleaders who only chime in once a quarter.

最後，你需要一個真正的軍師，不僅僅是在董事會會議中有報告職責的一些人，以便無論白天黑夜都能尋求到建議。運營一個公司是24/7的折磨，投資一個公司也不是兼職，也不是隻有1/4的時間鳴笛的拉拉隊長領域。