BIO: Anthony Iannarino is a writer, a speaker, an entrepreneur, and an author of three books.
STORY: Anthony invested $1,200,000 in two brothers working on a revolutionary nanoparticles project. When they needed more money, he found the brothers a good investor, but they decided to go with another who required them to move from their hometown. Halfway through the project, the brothers decided they didn’t want to work on it anymore and moved back home, killing the project.
LEARNING: When getting into a high-stakes investment, have a solid contract that makes you part of the decision-makers.
“Whenever you go into an investment, you’re not betting on the horse; you’re betting on the jockey.”
Anthony Iannarino
Guest profile
Anthony Iannarino is a writer, a speaker, an entrepreneur, and an author of three books on sales; The Only Sales Guide You’ll Ever Need, The Lost Art of Closing, and Eat Their Lunch. He writes and publishes every day at www.thesaleblog.com.
Worst investment ever
Anthony happened to know about two brothers who were working on a revolutionary project around nanoparticles. What they were doing with nanoparticles was something that no one else had been able to do. No one seemed to believe in their project, but Anthony did. His company invested $1,200,000 in the project, and they started building the equipment they needed.
They realized that they needed more extensive equipment along the journey, which meant more money. Anthony’s company didn’t have the cash injection required, but they agreed to help the brothers find investors.
Anthony found them a $10 billion company that would give them everything they needed for the projects. They would even provide them with a bridge loan to ensure that everything would be okay during the entire process.
Unbeknownst to Anthony, the brothers talked to another person in northern Ohio who wanted to own the whole project. He promised them $500,000 and a salary of $150,000 salary each. But, the brothers had to move to northern Ohio to be near all of the equipment. Anthony advised them against this deal, but the brothers took it.
After a few months, the brothers decided that the salary was not enough for them and they didn’t want to live there anymore. It became impossible to see the project to the end without the brothers’ input. And just like that, Anthony lost his $1,200,000 investment. Someone leaked the IP to someone who created a different way to do the nanoparticles project.
Lessons learned
- When getting into a high-stakes investment, have a solid contract that makes you or your representative part of the decision-makers.
- Whenever you go into an investment, you’re not betting on the horse; you’re betting on the jockey. And so, if the jockey is unreliable, you’re betting on the wrong jockey.
- Be careful about the sunk cost fallacy.
Andrew’s takeaways
- When investing in businesses, particularly startups, keep in mind that a tremendous amount of resource management is involved, so every decision matters.
- When deciding on an investment, consider, at the very least, if you trust the owner, if their idea is viable, they’re able to execute the vision, and they have the capital.
Actionable advice
When investing, you have to trust more than just the individual; you must trust that they’re the right person to bring that product or idea to life.
No. 1 goal for the next 12 months
Anthony’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to launch his fourth book.
Parting words
“Do good work because you’re here for a short time. Make it count.”
Anthony Iannarino
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