近日，在《財富》雜志在美國加州拉古納尼格爾市舉辦的新一代最具影響力女性峰會創投公司上，三位女性投資人——Trinity Ventures合伙人安朱拉·阿查瑞亞、私募投資公司斐然資本合伙人利亞·巴斯克和風投基金BBG Ventures創始人妮莎·杜阿齊聚一堂，介紹了她們認為有潛力的企業家應具備哪些素質。

以下是她們分享的心得。

能給人留下深刻第一印象的創始人

“優秀的創始人總會一門心思解決問題，收到反饋后又能靈活調整方向，這種創始人就是最理想的人選，”杜阿說，“他們要有相當的自知之明。”杜阿還說，和創始人聊天或者提出反饋的時候就能看出來，“見上幾次面就能大致了解某個人。”

擅長描繪創業理想的創業者

身為共享人力資源平臺TaskRabbit的創始人，巴斯克認為講好故事很重要。“創始人有沒有為了抓住商機努力奮斗？看著他們的眼睛，你信不信他們能堅持下去？”她這樣問。這就是創始人講好創業理想很重要。“（要明確告訴我）坐在我對面的人是誰？他們來這想做什么？”

杜阿也同意巴斯克的看法。她說：“你問對方他是誰，實際上就是在問他們希望未來五年、十年內公司發展成什么樣。”

不自以為是的創始人

阿查瑞亞說：“募資就像約會。千萬不要看起來急不可待。”

杜阿認為，創始人也不能看起來太有防備。她列舉了一些創始人應該避免的表現：“有些創始人，只要你一問他問題或者主動提出反饋，他就戒心很強，還有些人會遮遮掩掩。不要把公司的營業收入放在附件第60頁里。有人問起經營數據時，不要因為尷尬故意轉移話題。投資者希望了解你對公司的真實想法。”

目光長遠的創始人

阿查瑞亞認為，找到目光長遠的投資人很重要。她說：“對我幫助最大的導師是（唱片公司Interscope Records和錄音設備品牌Beats Electronics的聯合創始人）吉米·艾歐文。他給過我一大筆投資，一周后告訴我公司會倒閉。他說：‘對我來說，創始人要對專輯負責，不能只盯著單曲。’所以，我尋找理想的投資公司創始人時，不希望對方曇花一現。”

她接著說：“有次我雖然不相信項目能成功，但還是私下給創始人投資，目的只是和他們共同進退。老實說，后來那家公司的確垮了，但后來我和吉米合作成功不少次。他當年信任我，現在我同樣信任其他創業者。投資是和創始人共赴征途，要把眼光放長遠。”

女性創始人

杜阿說：“我們認為，如果女性創始人為和自己類似的消費者開發產品，還是非常值得投資的。因為大部分消費者都是女性，85%的購物決策都是由女性做出。她們是大多數社交平臺上的活躍分子。我們越來越成為第一個吃螃蟹的人。現在創始人發生了很大變化，再也不只是斯坦福大學的書呆子了。女性創業大潮已經興起。”

巴斯克也表示贊成。“投資者總是說要找搭調的人，”她說，“我就什么調都不搭。只有少數有眼光的人把握住了機會跟我合作。”

勇于承認失利的創始人

巴斯克是由創始人轉型的投資人。她坦言：“我現在還覺得自己像深入敵后的人。所以我可以說：投資人不投資你的公司可以有成千上萬條理由，其實和你本人沒關系。”

雖敗猶榮的創始人

阿查瑞亞說：“每個人內心都會有一些斗爭。最優秀的創始人是糾結的。”（財富中文網）

譯者：Pessy

審稿：夏林

Three female investors—AnjulaAcharia of Trinity Ventures, Leah Busque of FUEL Capital, and NishaDua of BBG Ventures—gathered at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Next Gen Summit in Laguna Niguel, Calif. to outline the qualities that they look for in promising entrepreneurs.

Here’s what they said.

Founders who make a great first impression

“You’re always looking for a founder that has incredible conviction in what they’re solving yet has flexibility and an ability to pivot when they receive feedback,” Dua said. “They need some level of self-awareness.” Investors can hear it when founders chat with them or respond to feedback, she added. “You can tell a lot about a person in those first few meetings.”

Founders who tell a great story

Busque, who is also the founder of TaskRabbit, the on-demand labor marketplace, said storytelling matters. “Is this founder purpose-built for the opportunity? Can you look them in the eye and believe that they’re going to persist?” she asked. That’s why the story a founder tells matters. “Who is this person sitting across from me? Why are they here?”

Dua agreed: “In asking a person who they are, you’re really asking what they want that business to be in five, 10 years.”

Founders who check their ego at the door

“Raising money is like dating,” Acharia said. “You can never look desperate.”

Nor should you look defensive, Dua said. “Founders who get defensive when you ask them questions or give them unsolicited feedback…and people who try to hide things,” she said, listing founder no-nos. “Don’t put your revenue on page 60 in the appendix. Don’t deflect when you’re asked about it because you’re embarrassed. The investor wants to know how you’ve thought about the business.”

Founders who take the long view

Acharia said that it’s worth finding investors who are in it for the long run. “My biggest mentor is Jimmy Iovine,” she said. “A week after he gave me a really big check, he told me my business would fail. He said, ‘For me, founders are about albums, not singles.’ So when I look at a founder, I don’t just look for that one hit.”

She continued: “I’ve given personal checks to founders to people whom I didn’t even believe their business plan but I want to be in business with them. And to be quite frank, my business failed, and I went on to do more things with Jimmy that were successes. That belief he had in me is now something I have in others. It’s about being on a journey with a founder and taking that long-term view.”

Founders who are women

“We think it’s a competitive advantage to invest in female founders who are building a product for consumers who look like them,” Dua said. “Women are the dominant consumer. They drive 85% of purchasing decisions. They drive most social platforms. And we’re increasingly the early adopter. The changing profile of the founder—it’s no longer the Stanford hoodie. So we’re seeing this tidal wave of female founders.”

Busque agreed. “Investors always say they’re looking to pattern-match,” she said. “I didn’t match a pattern. It was a few people who took a chance on me.”

Founders who recognize that it’s not always about them

“I still feel like I’m behind enemy lines” as a founder turned investor, Busque said, “So I’ll say this: I’ve learned that there are thousands of reasons why an investor won’t invest in your company that have nothing to do with you.”

Founders who wear failure like a badge of honor

“Everybody’s struggling with something on the inside,” Acharia said. “The best founders are struggling with something.”