How to Get an Investor For Business? | Suman Rayamajhi | Sushant Pradhan Podcast

Investor Fit & Fundraising Decision-Making (Raise vs. Not)

• In Nepal, the speaker notes an emerging “repeat funding” culture (multiple rounds), moving away from a traditional mindset that favors avoiding outside borrowing.
• The core framing: don’t view fundraising as “holding on to 100% equity/ownership.”
  • Instead, fundraising is about onboarding the right people so the “pie gets bigger”—i.e., grow the business and de-risk execution.

What Investors Look For: A “3-Part” Founder/Investment Framework

The presenter shares a recurring “three by three” structure:

1. Not yourself—your team/capabilities

   • Investors evaluate whether the founder + team can execute.
   • Founder capability is assessed through previous experience.

2. Not your business plan (not a “soap/pitch deck”)—execution readiness

   • Investors look for proper financial and technical thinking.
   • The plan must plausibly guide how the company will move forward.

3. For that investor, what they get

   • Investors need a clear explanation of what they receive:
     • outcomes/returns,
     • how they participate in growth,
     • and how founder seriousness reduces risk.

Most Important Emphasis: “Why this entrepreneur?”

• Investors gain confidence by evaluating the founder/team and seeing that the plan evolves with reality.
• Example mentioned: the business plan shifted from early projections (5-year) to a later longer-term plan (referenced as 7-year).

Commitment & Credibility Signals (Especially in Nepal Culture)

The speaker argues investors feel safer when founder commitment is high and personal risk is aligned:

• Commitment beyond a “side hustle”

  • If the founder has other income or isn’t fully dedicating attention, investors won’t feel confident.
  • The entrepreneur must be available day-to-day for execution.

• Willingness to risk personal/social capital

  • The speaker describes the “social animal” element: founders should be willing to invest or bring in money from family/friends close to them.
  • If the founder won’t risk personal relationships and money, confidence drops.

• Avoiding “outsider money”

  • Investors are more confident when capital comes from people closely aligned with the founder.
  • The implied logic: stronger accountability and a lower chance of catastrophic loss if things go wrong.

Business Plan Expectations: Timelines & Investor Outcomes

• Investors back founders when there’s a credible path where “0 rupees today” becomes “thousands later.”
• The speaker highlights long-horizon planning, with an anecdote showing updates over time:
  • 5-year projections later referenced as evolving to a 7-year plan.

Investor Types & Fundraising “Stages” (High-Level)

The story describes moving across investor categories and financing “stages”:

• Angel / early stage
  • Including checks from well-known businessmen and HNIs (high-net-worth individuals).
• Seed round
• Private equity (PE)
  • Referred to as “Dole / Dolma” in the subtitle.
• Repeated investment rounds
  • The private equity investor participated in over three rounds, based on confidence in growth and the business model.

How funding changes as the organization scales

• Friends & Family: grows with the company.
• Later-stage capital: may include non-traditional participants (e.g., customers/vendors as relationships evolve).

Concrete Examples & Numbers (From the Speaker’s Case)

• Angel + HNI checks
  • 55 million rupees signed after early rounds (driven by concept quality and conviction).
• Friends & Family
  • Approximately 500,000 rupees raised early.
• Private equity follow-on
  • The PE investor participated in three rounds over time (not just one).

Organizational / Financing Playbook: Expanding Who “Walks With You”

The speaker presents institution-building through inclusive stakeholder participation:

• Segment shift as the company grows

  • Early: fundraise from friends/family/angels and initial supporters.
  • Next: add other stakeholders tied to the business (the subtitle references “vendors/customers” evolving into broader participation).

• Customer/vendor participation strategy (example in e-commerce context)

  • As order volume increases:
    • fewer orders (“yesterday”) → more orders (“today”) → thousands of pending orders
  • The plan is to involve those who helped build the business—not just as “vendors,” but as part of the company’s future growth and value creation for the broader public.

Key KPIs / Metrics Explicitly Mentioned

• 55 million rupees (angel/HNI investment amount)
• 500,000 rupees (friends & family investment amount)
• 3 rounds (PE investor follow-on participation)
• 5-year plan → later referenced 7-year plan (planning horizon updates)
• Order-volume scaling (qualitative):
  • ~20 orders/day → 50 orders/day → scaling fluctuations, culminating in “thousands of pending orders”

Note: No explicit CAC/LTV/churn/revenue margin numbers were provided in the subtitles.

Actionable Takeaways (Business Execution Oriented)

• Build your fundraising narrative around capability + execution readiness, not only a pitch deck.
• Signal credibility through:
  • full-time founder focus (no side-hustle dilution),
  • willingness to risk personal/social capital (especially where trust is relationship-based).
• Present a credible long-horizon path (e.g., 5-year, then update to longer-term plans).
  • Be ready to evolve projections as reality changes.
• As you scale, consider a stakeholder-inclusive approach (supporters/customers/vendors) to broaden institutional support beyond a one-off financing event.

Presenters / Sources

• Suman Rayamajhi (primary speaker)
• Sushant Pradhan (podcast host referenced in the title)