The ‘Never Take No’ Attitude

Skip Simms meets tech entrepreneurs daily though his position as Senior Vice President of SPARK as well has his role as Managing Member of Michigan Angel Fund.

So when he states that successful entrepreneurs must have the ‘never take no’ attitude, that’s just the start of what he believes it takes to be successful. The passion and belief in a product are paramount – but also a willingness to listen to the target customer. If your product does not relieve the customer’s pain you should be able to listen to the feedback, really hear it, and make the needed adjustment to your product.

As the guest on this week’s The Trep Talk, Skip talks about the many resources offered by the State of Michigan through its Smart Zone Networks set up throughout the state, as well as the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), a federal program with matching funds from the state. These programs offer help from the idea to the product prototype and beyond. While the focus of the Smart Zone Network is on technology entrepreneurs, it is because the money brought in by tech is from the outside, it’s new money, not existing local money. Tech businesses are scalable to national and global levels, and the potential to bring in millions and billions exist. That’s not to say there’s not assistance out there for non-tech companies, there is, and Skip outlines where that help can be found.

But Skip also outlines what is really needed to get funding – no matter what sector you are in – it’s the characteristics of entrepreneurs that are the same across the board – passion, coachability, some level of business acumen, honesty and integrity in all dealings, willingness to find others to help since you can’t do it all on your own. And it’s the understanding that you, as the entrepreneur, must be the biggest salesperson for your product. If you don’t know how to sell, learn so you can drive revenue. Money talks, as they say, and investors listen to businesses that have customers, traction in the marketplace and leadership that listens and takes advice.

Don’t take it from us, listen to the insight only an insider can give when it comes to resources and funding. Don’t miss this week’s The Trep Talk podcast.