John Dimmer

John Dimmer was our guest lecturer for this week. I was very excited to learn John would be speaking to the class because I worked on one of his funded businesses in the past but was never able to meet him personally. In his talk, John said that the main job of a CEO is to raise money. This resonated with me because that is exactly what I've been trying to do for my company for the past few months. John made it clear that when it comes to funding, the first round is on you. Outside investors want to know you have money in your company. This was good to hear because I've been putting all of my internship money I've earned in the past towards my company. John said that funding comes from three sources, giving away equity, taking on debt or other sources such as a business plan competition or grants. He made it clear that the most expensive thing a business can do is to sell equity. But if you must give away equity, there are two critical numbers to consider, first, what is your company worth and secondly how much money do you really need? This again was important for me to consider because right now I am in talks to give away some of the equity in my company. Another important takeaway from John was hearing when to go get money from outside sources and from who. In John's opinion, he said that when a product is in the design phase, go show angels, and when you're ready to expand go show VCs and make sure that you are already making money. This was good to hear because I wasn't sure of the difference between the angels and VCs but this cleared that up for me. Overall, John put on a great talk for our class and hearing what a successful man like him has to say is invaluable.