Most entrepreneurs who approach venture capitalists (VCs) for funding are turned down. They might be better served by looking elsewhere or focusing on organic growth, argues Ian Gotts, CEO of VC-backed software company Nimbus.

In the early days of a business, it’s common to spend a great deal of your time and energy trying to raise investment. Unfortunately, this is the stage when you can least afford to do so, as building your company will be demanding 100 per cent of your attention.

What can you do about this? The simple answer is, don’t try to raise investment yet. Grow the company organically in the early years, sacrificing growth possibly, but the upside is that you are not suffering massive dilution or losing control of your business.

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