Entrepreneur or Investor - thats the question

I experienced both possibilities, and each has satisfactions and headaches, as you can imagine. In the two of them, you will invest something really valuable: your time, money, and work. Maybe the question you should ask yourself is: Would you rather worry about how to run the business or worry about someone else doing it? 

It is evident that you will be a better investor (remember that investors not only put the money but also coach the entrepreneurs) if you become an entrepreneur first. I believe you need to feel the challenges, the questions, and the needs that appear on the path to creating a business even if it wasn’t a successful business.

But make no mistake: being an entrepreneur is not the only thing you need to become a smart investor. We have talked a lot about the qualities of a successful entrepreneur, let's talk about the skills an investor needs and the precautions they should take. 

# 1 Be aware of what you are playing: Most new companies or products simply do not make it, so the risk of losing one's entire investment is a real possibility. For those that do go public, the returns can be in the thousands of percent, making early investors wealthy.

# 2 Main roles are VC or angel investor: Angel investors are the ones that support the startup economically just after the family and friends, and they become a sort of a mentor for the founder(s). If you are starting in this world, without any entrepreneurial experience it might be probably better to be with a Venture Capital. VCs invest in different companies and often take on advisor roles and find a seat on the board of directors for the company.

# 3 Do they have benefits before expected? That's the one: When a startup gets benefits it has already proven that this business model is successful and fits in the market. If it does it before expected, I think that’s proof of good execution. I know it by experience as my company Tiko has accumulated positive EBITDA since 2021 even though the situation of the market this year. 

# 4 Do not try too many investments without a game plan: You need to have a plan for choosing and evaluating your investments. Too often new investors base their choices on personal biases and how they “feel.” Instead, have an objective plan for evaluating your investments’ performance. Do this monthly. 

# 5 Avoid trends or shiny objects: New investors can sometimes get sidetracked by what they think everyone sees as an opportunity or by falling in love with an idea without fully understanding the deal's implications. Savvy investing should be about much more than the shiniest object that grabs your attention. You can make intuition part of your decisions, which is a kind of strategy, but you also must examine that business as deeply as you do with any of them. Do not invest because you feel FOMO. 

So what’s the answer? Entrepreneurship or investment? Well, the answer is that it depends. It depends on your personality (some people are incapable of letting others manage, and they should know their limitations). In the same way, it depends on what kind of business or investment strategy you want to pursue: if you know there is an opportunity in a particular sector where you have never worked before, it is probably more intelligent to invest with a VC and learn about the field instead of managing the operations. In any case, the reward will be for those that work hard from their position to get better. 

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