First to be Second

Evan Lowe was a wonderful guest speaker that came to talk to us in Sales in The Startup. One of his lines that stuck out to me was the idea that “Everybody wants to be first to be second. Few people want to be first to be first.”

Now this concept isn’t pertaining to being the first one to own a brand new iPhone, oh no, this is about investing. When you want to gain an investor you have to sell your product and by extension, you have to sell yourself.

I once heard a great story that helps demonstrate his point. A friend of mine was once driving home from school when he came to a red light. There were two cars in front of him, most likely on their way home too. Unlike most red lights, this one was red for a long time. A really long time. Eventually, he started thinking about moving out of line and going across anyway. There had been absolutely no traffic coming from the other direction.

As time went on, he got more and more impatient. BUT, few people want to be first to be first. It wasn’t until one person pulled out of line to move across the intersection that the other cars decided to follow suit. The potential for something to go wrong is greater for that first person, so there had better be a good reason, or they had better be convinced that it is a good reason to proceed.

After the first person went, everybody wanted to be the next one to go. They didn’t want to miss their chance. Once one person chooses to invest in you, it lets other investors become more at ease to give you funds. With that in mind, it is important to always put your best foot forward and to sell yourself, being as transparent as possible. If you two are a good fit- a deal will be made.