Ayalym Ayaganova on why it is important for founders to take risks too

Ayaulym Ayaganova, city — Astana, financier, co-founder and CEO of Acvee Finance, board member of TechnoWomen, head of the Women in Tech Entrepreneurship group, @ayaganova_ayaulym

Simply having a beautiful presentation and a "revolutionary" idea is not enough to attract funding to realize your dream. For venture investors, it is important to understand that you are also "in the game."

What does this mean? There are several scenarios.

1. Founders have invested their own money

For a potential investor, this is a clear signal that the founders deeply believe in the project and trust each other. At the same time, the risk of losing their own money serves as a strong motivator for the team. It is considered good practice to invest using an Uncapped SAFE. This way, you enter on the same terms as the first investor in a priced round.

2. Founders quit their jobs and work on the project full-time

It is clear that not everyone has the funds to launch a high-tech business. However, if you are working on the project part-time, attracting external funding will be difficult. Lack of focus slows down development. Moreover, few will be willing to risk their money for a team that is not even ready to take the risk and quit their jobs. Therefore, before launching a startup, it is highly desirable to save a "safety cushion" for at least six months. The model of "we will quit our jobs once we get funding" rarely works.

3. Opportunity cost

Sometimes, in order to found a startup, a founder has to give up other opportunities. Someone leaves a profitable business, someone quits a high-paying job, and someone sacrifices career growth.

In order to found Narrative BI, I had to leave a company in Silicon Valley and give up a seven-figure compensation package consisting of stock and salary. My co-founders left profitable businesses.

But this applies not only to money or career. As sad as it may be, many founders have to give up things that cannot be measured in money: personal life, travel, the ability to be close to loved ones, mental health, healthy sleep, hobbies, and so on. But who said it would be easy?