Sitting down to dinner with a VC that doesn’t sugar coat anything is a great way to find out the do’s and don’ts when fundraising for your business. Bill Earner, Managing Partner at Connect Ventures, provided an after-dinner talk at a this recent dinner, where he provided valuable insight for his fellow diners. Here are his top five tips for entrepreneurs and business owners looking for investment:

1. Have perseverance
VCs have different objectives, just because you’re building a business that has a local market and isn’t right for one investor, it could be a perfect fit for another.

2. Don’t take it too personally
VCs (Bill himself included) aren’t always the easiest bunch to interact with. More often than not they’re used to being the smartest person in the room! Good VCs understand businesses and entrepreneurs.

3. Don’t be offended
Between him and his partner at Connect Ventures, they meet over 50 people a week. He’s constantly flooded with propositions and overwhelmed with information. It’s Bill’s belief that VCs tend to have built-in Attention Deficit Disorder! Don’t be offended, and don’t assume that they’ll remember every detail of every conversation.

4. Be bold
Don’t be afraid to be blunt; make clear statements saying, “This is what we’re doing, and this is how much we want.” Take the guessing work out for the investor.

5. Have passion
It helps to be extremely passionate about what you’re building. To have the drive to change the world with what you’re building; if you’re not – is it really worth your time?

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Don’t miss our next fundraising dinners with Piton Capital, DN Capital, Spring Partners and Saatchinvest.