photo credit: woodleywonderworks

Investors and entrepreneurs may not always have the same needs and motivations, hence it’s a common phenomenon that investors might reject your startup idea because it’s not a right fit for them. It is important for both parties to know how to deal with this rejection.

One suggestion here to entrepreneurs is to never ask for referrals. When your pitch is rejected, the worst thing you can do is ask for a referral. It won’t work in a professional business context. The venture capital community is a very close-knit group that has a high amount of trust and reliability in one another, so it is quite irrelevant to ask for a referral. Entrepreneurs should be careful with this.

Just as the entrepreneurs, investors need to know how to deal with a rejection as well. Following “honesty is the best policy” approach will be the best here. Be clear, concise and honest to startups. Entrepreneurs, on the other side of the table should take rejection for what it is, and not push back for a referral.

A note to startup entrepreneurs – don’t take rejection personally ever. And don’t forget to look on the bright side of a rejection; something better is waiting for you always.

For more insight on this matter, we suggest you read this post at ReadWriteWeb

Bijan Sabet suggests. Sabet says that had he not been turned down for his first job application, he may not have found himself where he his today, both professionally with becoming an investor, and personally with meeting his wife.

photo credit: alexanderdrachmann

It is easy to glamorize the life of an entrepreneur – but what isn’t easy is to imagine all the difficulties that come along. However, without a doubt the benefits of being a startup entrepreneur outweigh all the problems.

There are millions of people every year who step forward and take a plunge and start their first ventures. So should you take the plunge as well? As a potential entrepreneur, it’s the ‘gut’ feeling of succeeding that is important. There are strong internal drivers that compel us to startup our own venture.

Yes we have the idea, motivation and zeal, but do we really have everything needed to be successful startup entrepreneur?

Take this 2 minute test (Isenberg Entrepreneur Test) and find out. Simply answer yes or no to the questions and be honest (to yourself):

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/02/should_you_be_an_entrepreneur.html

I am sure Zuckerberg, Larry Page & Steve Jobs will score well in the quiz 

"I want to get rich" is not on the list either. All else being equal (and all else is rarely equal in the real world), on the average, people who set up their own businesses don't make more money, although a few do succeed in grabbing the brass ring.

I believe that since you’ve actually come up with a thought of launching a Startup, you do have a magnificent idea and have done all the research around it! And why shouldn’t you? After all, your dream will materialize through your Startup venture. It definitely deserves all the attention and effort.

But don’t forget that no matter how ‘unique’ your idea is, there is always enough competition in the market to pull your startup down. How will you deal with this competition ultimately determines your future in the industry. Customer Service, Convenience, Experience, Economic rates – all of them are offered by mostly all the businesses today!

That’s why the best way to drive people to buy from you is offering something that they can only get from you and no one else. The Marketers call it USP (Unique Selling Proposition). Ask yourself “What is different or better about the products or service my startup has to offer?”

The article below outlines a few steps a startup can take to identify a ‘Killer USP’ and stay ahead of competition:

http://www.startupnation.com/articles/9485/1/unique-selling-proposition-transform-sales.htm

In other words, you need to spend some time looking at your competition. Because it’s impossible to know what makes you unique when you don’t know what anyone else is offering.

Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs find it difficult to find a USP for their business because they’re so involved in it that they forget the real world realm. Define your features and benefits, define your target audience, know your competition and write your USP.