Which is more important: Your product or proof of concept? – George Deeb

If you want to raise capital, it’s essential to consider what is more important to investors: a product OR proof of concept. On today’s episode of The Small Business Show, we’re joined by George Deeb to share his perspective on this question and what investors are looking for. 

George Deeb is a renowned Author of 101 Startup Lessons-An Entrepreneur’s Handbook, Forbes Contributor, and Managing Partner at Red Rocket Ventures. Deeb has a passion for entrepreneurship, and since creating the firm in 2010, he has provided consulting services to over 750 startups.

Key Takeaways:

1. Ensure you have a clear end goal of building a successful long-term business and understand the requirements of the investors from the very start. 

2. Learn to differentiate between the product, the good, or service, and the proof of concept.

3. Before starting, consider the investor community and build a plan surrounding those benchmarks.

4. Account for every dollar that goes out of your business, and gather how many dollars you expect will return.

5. Understand B2C and B2B have different protocols regarding sales-driven stories.

“Without a great product, nothing will sell. But, the traction is what investors are looking for.”