5 Ways Investors Will Ruin Your Business

When I had my handbag line I just wanted to be successful.  I wasn’t always sure what that meant….. it did include making lots of money….but I wasn’t sure what the rest looked like for a while. And I certainly didn’t know there were 5 ways investors were going to ruin my business.

Once I got some PR and got my products to famous Celebrities, people started to take notice of me.  Magazines wanted to interview me, and producers called asking me to be on E! and Extra.  Don’t get me wrong, that was all fabulous and helped skyrocket my sales…..which made me more money…..which made me feel successful.

The circle was starting feel complete……

But what really made me feel like a rockstar was when investors started poking around.  Now this was an important moment for me…..

I was flattered, but I wasn’t sure it was the right move for me. I didn’t really need their money, but I was enticed with the fact that they’d supply me with a COO who had a fancy MBA from UCLA and who (they swore) was clearly more capable than me since she had a business degree.  Somehow I got caught up in it all and before I knew it, I had 28 small investors and a new COO.

But as you might know, it didn’t turn out to be all glamorous and fabulous….in fact, it was a mixture of my ignorance and circumstance that blew it up in my face. And cost me my business.  

Tip:  Believe in yourself and don’t let anyone tell you other people are smarter than you.

Unfortunately, I was not very “legally” savvy at this point and just went with the flow and in the end…..paid the price.  I lost my namesake company, the rights to use my own name, and for a while my pride.

This hurt the most. 

If you are considering teaming up with investors, be it friends, family, Angels, or VC’s… here are some things I learned the hard way.

Don’t make the same mistakes I did.

I am not an attorney…..just someone who experienced difficulty, and learned a lot over the years. Ask your attorney for advice on this…..just sayin’… ’cause I’m not one.

5 Ways Investors Will Ruin Your Business

1. First and foremost, get your OWN attorney. Not the one for the company, but your very own who has your best interest at heart. A corporation’s attorney is obligated by law to make the best deal possible for the business.…not for you, even if you are the owner. I lost the rights to use my own name when I closed my handbag company as the company owned the rights to my Trademark, and my bitter investors would not give it back to me. I didn’t have my own attorney. Get one.

2. When taking money from anyone, be sure you have a very tight/strong shareholder agreement that clearly states they are taking a risk. Make them sign that page in addition to the main signature page. This saved my butt. If you don’t have this little piece of paper, they could turn around and haul our butt into court for not keeping your promise to make them rich (possibly in their dreams)…. but never the less.

3. If giving shares for sweat equity, be sure the equity equals the sweat. Meaning that you should have a clear statement of expectations and once the expectations are met each quarter (or how ever you measure it) then that amount of shares vest.

For example: You are giving someone 16% of your company for XYZ services. They have committed to 2 years of service in exchange for the shares. If you divide the shares in 8 parts then each quarter they vest 2% of their shares. If they abandon you – the vesting stops and you retain the shares. You can also speak to your attorney about the abandoning part as he/she might come up with a way to get the shares back for you if they quit too soon. It’s worth asking. One of my business partners took 20% equity in exchange for sweat equity, and quit a few months in and kept the shares as I didn’t have my own attorney and the corporate attorney did not advise me on this…… live and learn. It sucked.

4. Make sure your shareholder agreement has a dilution clause….meaning that you can dilute the shares and raise more money. Don’t get stuck NOT being able to raise more money. This was the one good thing the company attorney did that I could benefit from.  Legal Zoom can help guide you on all this legal mumbo jumbo.

5. Lastly, only take money from investors when it is the LAST LAST LAST possible resort…… use credit cards, get a loan, borrow from a friend and pay them the low interest they are getting now……Investors stink…..they are (usually) only after the money they think you can make for them…. they are business people who choose to invest in you instead of Apple…..and they don’t want to lose their hard earned money.

It’s a lot of pressure.

The best investors are the ones who can give you advice, make connections, introduce you to the right people….. the ones who can actually change your life. Look for those….. you’ll be happier.

If you have any specific questions…..feel free to post them below. 

Written by Sarah Shaw

There are 12 comments

Janet Bernasconi says:

May 2, 2018 at 6:32 am

Hi Sarah,
Really excellent advice and really appreciated. I always joke around and say that one day a big company will want my creations and put them in stores all over the U.S.A. So if some investor ever does approach me I will be sure to get an attorney first. Thanks so much for sharing wise information.
Have a fabulous year,
Janet Bernasconi

Reply

Sarah Shaw says:

May 2, 2018 at 7:30 am

Glad you found this useful. It’s SUPER important to take care of yourself in this instance.

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Connie Inukai says:

May 20, 2019 at 11:46 am

Thanks for the great advice. This is contrary to what most entrepreneurs would think.

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• Sarah Shaw says:

  May 20, 2019 at 11:54 am

  Yes it is!

  Reply

Jill Wright says:

May 29, 2019 at 12:52 pm

Thanks so much Sarah for sharing ALL the steps of your journey–the good, the bad and all of the in between. It’s all so helpful! xo

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• Sarah Shaw says:

  May 29, 2019 at 1:20 pm

  I’m so glad!!

  Reply

Krit says:

February 12, 2020 at 10:31 am

This is so great! I am at a point where I am debating pitching to investors. All the other founders around me make it seem like that is the only way forward. I feel so out of place when I mention that it’s really risky to take money from someone who is going to then insist you do things their way and you have to flight to justify every decision you are making, despite the fact that your decisions help build the brand in the first place.

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• Sarah Shaw says:

  February 13, 2020 at 10:09 am

  Glad to give you food for thought

  Reply

Sandra says:

February 12, 2020 at 11:41 am

I’m book marking this Sarah! I may even print it out and hang it on my wall just to be safe. Thank you!

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• Sarah Shaw says:

  February 13, 2020 at 10:09 am

  Awesome!!

  Reply

Linda Parker says:

July 22, 2020 at 10:07 am

Really stuck at the moment. Feel like you know the pain. Listened to you on eofire podcast. Trying to find time (extra money lol) to start an incredible twist to handbags but putting it all together to launch is a nightmare so far. Aseembly of each one to decontruct, build parts, reconstruct takes weeks to get one right. And UPS stole a box of handbags from me (120 pieces) and refuse to get the UPS employee to give it back in dallas. UPS is also noe trying to chatge me $400 in customs rather than make the asian manu. adjust his invoice am $ price down to manu replcmnt cost. I have multiple utility patents pending, but no time to put anything together as my real job is 100% travel… so im never home to sew/drill/glue these cool things together. And now covid…come on! I’m so frustrated i could scream. Where do you find time to start a business,especially when your things ate pretty much hand made? Do you have a book for my particular hell? I know you’ve benn here first hand from the podcast! Thank you for advice! Nanna

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• Sarah Shaw says:

  July 27, 2020 at 1:50 pm

  Linda, I know it’s tough…….. I think it just takes deciding to DO IT and getting it all doe while you have income from a job and then just let it fly and quit. That’s what I did….. scary but when I felt ready I quit and put 1000% into the business. There is no “right” way to be ready. You just need to decide when that is. Move on from the loss…. staying stuck in small things just prolongs departure…… keep moving.

  Reply

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