The power of asking

This is how i got my first investor.

Most entrepreneurs feel asking for help is a sign of weakness. But my biggest realisation is, it's actually a superpower.

Sometimes the driving force is not in who you know, but asking for help from the unknowns. It's a powerful tool to navigate the landscape of social connections and accept the vulnerabilities of having no credentials.

You can ask for help, feedback or suggestions. The worst outcome is no response. The best outcome can't be predicted.

When i was starting ImStrong, my last startup. I knew nothing about raising money. I knew no one in the venture capital or angel networks. The only thing i knew was sending cold emails :) Most landed no response but some good folks did reply.

So, i sent a cold email to Nithin Kamath.
I expected it to land no response.
But in 10 mins i got a reply.
In 2 days, i got an investment offer 😊
Below is the screen shot of the exact email trails that happened.

Me- Hey Nithin, we are building ImStrong. This is the problem we are solving. What do you think?
Nithin signed up as a user to try the product.

Me- Asked for feedback.
Nithin replied with his experience of the product.

Me- Hey Nithin, would you like to invest in what we are building? Asked for the money :)
We got an investment offer within 2 days.

So, whatever you are building, don't shy away from asking —Asking customers to try the product. Asking potential candidates to join the team. Asking investors for money. Asking random people for suggestions or feedback.

You may get many "No". All you need is that one "Yes".