I encounter too many founders who believe that their idea is the best in the world. As if their idea alone will guarantee their success, and all they need is someone to provide them with funding.

I've spoken to founders who genuinely believe that investors should invest in them solely based on their idea, without considering any other factors. They cannot comprehend why investors would reject them because they truly believe their idea is special.

Unfortunately, in the real world, it doesn't work that way. Ideas are insignificant and common. Your idea alone will not determine your future success or secure funding.

When I was an investor, I would encounter founders like this at least once a week. They would expect us to be amazed by their idea, but we weren't, because we had already come across three other founders working on something similar.

Even if you believe your company is the only one focused on your problem, the reality is:

1. There are other companies out there that you are unaware of
2. There’s no market because the idea may not be feasible in practice

To make matters worse, 80% of startups pivot before Series A. So even if you have a cool idea, it will probably change anyway!

Investors are well aware of this. They are not necessarily interested in your idea. What they want is to meet exceptional founders who are building interesting products, prioritizing the right things, and delivering on their promises.

Investors heavily consider the team when deciding whether to invest. Therefore, while your idea may hold some value in what you are trying to build, it does not make you worthy of funding.

So what do you have to show a part from your idea to make you be able to raise with VCs and angels?

Here’s 3 points on what you have to show as a founder/team:

1. You are executing.

Fundamentally, the success of your business depends on your execution.

For example, let's take the company we invested in, ManyPets. The pet insurance industry it operates in is highly competitive, with other VC-backed companies and large insurance incumbents vying for market share. Some of these VC-backed companies had been in the market longer, had more funding, and even had more product features when we invested.

So why did we invest?

We invested because we witnessed the founder, Steven Mendel, executing on the business at an impressive speed. In fact, Steven is one of the few founders I've ever seen who could communicate his goals for the next two years and then accurately achieve them (founders tend to overestimate and rarely underestimate!). This company went on to outperform all the other VC-backed companies (many of which failed), and is now valued at over $2 billion.

The success of ManyPets was not solely due to having a groundbreaking idea (pet insurance is not exactly novel!), but rather because of the founding team's exceptional ability to execute.

And it's the same for you - you need to demonstrate that you are working at an extreme pace, and that this is the reason why investors should invest in you.

2. You are a domain expert.

Investors are seeking to invest in industry experts. Many founders make the mistake of focusing solely on the greatness of their idea, rather than showing the unique insights that make them superior to their competitors.

Fundamentally, investors want to see your unique insights about the industry, and how this makes you different.

If you can demonstrate to investors that you have an in-depth understanding of the market and are taking the necessary steps at the right time to ensure success, they will be more inclined to invest in you.

A prime example of this is a deep tech founder we invested in, specifically in the field of quantum computing. He possessed the ideal combination of being an experienced scientist/PhD in quantum and having commercial acumen. However, here's the catch: the idea itself wasn't our primary concern; in fact, even the founder acknowledged its insignificance. What truly mattered to us was that he was addressing the right problem, prioritizing the right aspects, and remaining agile enough to adapt when necessary to ensure a successful product launch.

Ultimately, it wasn't about his idea; it was all about his own experiences and knowledge.

3. You have succeeded before.

I understand that this may sound harsh to some of you, especially if you are a first-time founder, but investors prefer to invest in people who have a track record of success. As I always say, investors invest in people they trust. If they don't see that you have achieved something of value (and earning a degree doesn't count), how can they trust you?

For instance, Alex Chesterman has significant influence when it comes to fundraising. He has built two unicorns (Zoopla and Cazoo), and another company was sold for a nine-figure sum. In fact, when he approached us with the idea of creating Cazoo, he presented us with a term sheet! We signed that term sheet within 48 hours, no questions asked.

When you are a founder who has previously succeeded like Alex, investors will be drawn to you because they trust that you have a greater likelihood of doing it again. This is the exact reason why Adam Neumann was able to raise funds for his new startup. Despite the negative attention he received, investors still wanted to invest in him because of his success in scaling WeWork.

Of course, 99.9% of you, are not yet Alex Chesterman or Adam Neumann. So how do you demonstrate to investors that you are successful?

After working with founders, I have found that many of you have actually achieved something substantial, but you either:

1. Don't know how to communicate it effectively
2. Are looking in the wrong areas

For example, you shouldn't simply talk about your previous job experiences by mentioning company names (which is what most people do). I don't care if you worked for Amazon or Facebook. What do I care about? That you led a team of 50 people to create a core product offering or that you scaled a company from the ground up to $X million.

Secondly, your success doesn't have to be limited to your career. In fact, I am currently working with a founder who is leveraging his experiences as a professional sportsman and demonstrating how that contributed to what he is building now. Investors are loving it.

All investors want to see is that you have a history of success and impact. Ultimately, that's what they are looking to invest in.

If you can demonstrate to investors that you have all three of these qualities, they won't be overly concerned with your idea. In fact, you could tell them that you are starting a new flip-flop company using doorknobs, and they would probably still be interested in investing in you. So remember, stop obsessing so much about your idea and start focusing on why you are the founder that investors should be excited to support.