If you have read enough of my LinkedIn posts or this newsletter, you will know that I constantly emphasize how fundraising is all about you, the founder. Fundamentally, investors want to invest into investable founders.

The problem I've seen is that many of you may find it difficult to understand what it means to be a investable founder. While founders may understand why this is important, they may find it challenging to know how to become "investable". After all, how do you turn something somewhat subjective into a method for demonstrating why you are that way?

The thing is, investing is largely about pattern recognition. Once investors have been through one to three years of investing, they begin to realize that successful founders all act pretty much the same way at their core, even if they have different personality types, genders, or work in different industries.

At the core, being an investable entrepreneur means having a unique, differentiated reason to be better at executing this business, in this market, with their team, than anyone else. They possess the inner capacity, conviction, and ability to build an investable company.

Here are the 6 core metrics to show you are an investable founder:

1. You are a domain expert.

Investors seek founders who possess deep expertise in their industry. Such knowledge of the market landscape helps maintain a fast pace and enables them to focus on true innovation in the industry.

As a health VC, I observed that most founders lacked experience in commercialisation, which is the biggest barrier to success in building a health start-up. The founders who had experience in building and commercialising products knew how and whom to approach and how to scale their companies effectively. This is what truly made them successful and became a key part of what I was looking for in founders I wanted to invest in.

Depending on your industry, it will depend what type of expertise investors will look for in you.

2. You are a visionary.

A core part of being a CEO is to inspire belief in yourself, your team, your customers as well as other stakes holders on your vision. This kind of persuasion and storytelling is a key part to success, because if you can’t make people want to join you on your journey to make your vision a reality, you will fail. You have to make sure you are showing your unique insights on why you will win.

That's why storytelling is such an important part of being a founder, and why working with people like Robbie Crabtree can be so powerful. If you lack vision, you won't be able to hire, sell, or create world-changing companies.

3. You are results orientated.

The investment is never the end goal for an investor; it's just the beginning of a decade-long journey of building your company. Interestingly, 60-70% of an investor's portfolio fails to reach their goals by the next round. This highlights the importance for investors to prioritize results and ensure effective execution.

To achieve success, it's essential to set goals, motivate your team to deliver results, and meet important milestones on schedule. Steven Mendel, CEO of ManyPets, stands out as the most results-oriented founder I've ever encountered. He consistently delivered revenue and cost budgets on time, something no other founder in our portfolio accomplished! It's no wonder that his company is currently valued at over $2 billion and growing at an exceptional rate.

4. You are agile to change.

Building a business and innovating requires moving into the unknown. No one knows what will happen in the future, and investors are especially aware of this fact. Every investor has likely seen or heard of one of their portfolio companies fail due to unforeseen circumstances. However, it is the founders who are resilient, decisive, and composed under pressure who will ultimately succeed.

A great example of this is Secret Escapes, a travel company that provides cheap luxury trips on a subscription basis, and is a portfolio company of my old fund. Despite being wildly successful and on track to go public in 2020 (with expectations to become a unicorn!), the COVID-19 pandemic caused chaos across the world.

As you can imagine, being a travel company in 2020 was not an ideal situation. However, the founders and leaders of Secret Escapes are second-to-none. With agility, composure, and hard work, they were able to come out of the pandemic in a better position and are now ramping up again for an IPO.

This kind of situation is likely to occur for every founder, including you. Investors understand this and want you to be agile and adaptable.

5. You are collaborative.

The people you hire and lead are the key controllable factor in your success. This is why being a visionary is essential, but also having high EQ and being highly collaborative with investors and employees is crucial for breeding success.

Founders who possess these traits can build truly inclusive cultures focused on developing the next big thing.

Here's 4 more traits investors look for in founders.

6. You are coachable.

During your fundraising process, when an investor asks you questions about your thoughts on the future or discusses certain points with you, they may not necessarily care about those specific points. What they are really trying to deduce is how you will work with them in the future.

Are you emotionally mature enough to keep your cool if someone plays devil’s advocate? Are you self-aware of your own weaknesses? Are you willing to listen, adapt and completely change with new information or learning?

You can’t learn how to be an investable founder by simply reading a book. It takes many years of actually doing the work, while leaning on investors and other advisors to continuously improve your skills.

Investors know this and are looking for founders who have a growth mindset and are always seeking ways to improve. You have to show them why you are coachable and will be a completely difference enigma by the next round. That’s what makes them excited.