High-Impact Entrepreneurship

Reprinted from Wamda. Original article here.

At our June CoE E-Commerce event, Elie Habib, Lebanon Country Manager for Riyada Enterprise Development, discusses the biggest pitfalls for startups looking for investment and what types of startup pitches he likes to see.

He explains that the MENA e-commerce space is filling up very quickly and new startups need to find a truly unique niche to be able to scale.

Some of the major startup pitfalls he has seen include not having a good team; one that is qualified, passionate, and has the capacity to innovate, create, and execute their idea. He explains that startups always underestimate how much money they will need and overestimate how well they will deliver. Habib adds that logistics and distribution are also a major hurdle which many young startups forget to consider accurately.

What he looks for in a startup presentation depends on the amount of the investment, but both an adequate product demonstration and a good handle on financials are key components of any pitch to investors.