These are the people that seem really keen to be involved. They look at your business like it is a car they want to jump in and drive away. To get the process started they kick the tires.

This involves them looking at your business plan, meeting with you a few times and sounding enthusiastic.
They will often talk your ear off about a lot of off topic subjects. Then they spend weeks, sometimes months kicking the other three tires.

What you realize is that at some point, if you want to "sell the car", you have to convince them to look inside the car and under the hood. If they only ever want to look at the surface of your business and are not interested in the nitty gritty, drive away!

This person will constantly tell you they are "the key to money". They have a syndicate or connections who always back their projects. They will maybe tell you who these people are to impress you. Then they will dangle that carrot in front of you and any time you want a bite, they will pull it away.

They seem to be able to sense that you have bought into their story and then make it more enticing each time you talk. When you give them everything they need to pass onto their connections, nothing happens.

You ask what their feedback was and they say they loved the idea. You try to organize a physical meeting or conference call. They are always busy.

And when you finally make them show their hand, they get offended saying you "are trying to pressure them" and that "it doesn't work like that." The entire charade is a waste of time and does nothing more than to inflate the ego of the person you are speaking to.

The best thing you can do is tell them you are taking investment from someone else. Their reaction might suddenly change to, "I can't believe you are doing this after all of the time I put into this. My team were so close to closing a deal with you." But you know the truth. Move on.

This is usually someone with solid business experience and maybe a background with a successful exit. You will hear about previous victories, war stories and possibly be offered some mints. This person is just happy you are in the same room as them and that they have someone to talk to. "How exciting, a fresh faced entrepreneur with a big idea!"

A typical conversation will revolve around which university they went to and what grades they got, what position they held for twenty years and the names of all their grandchildren.

But then they will wake you from your slumber by dropping in that they have a few million in the bank and not sure what to do with it.

They want some excitement in their life but their rigid, conservative ways and the idea they could lose their children's inheritance is too much of a risk to bear.

So instead of just telling you that they are not interested, they keep you on the hook for company. Gift them a box of tea and jog on.

This person will have a strong, alpha personality. They will probably drive a really expensive car, have photos of them with the President on their wall and brag about their massive network of high net worth individuals.

This type of investor will often have a high IQ and use lingo that will confuse you. They will have a regal air about them and dress well. This is all a facade.

They will grill you on your numbers but when you ask for testimonials or which companies they have worked with, they dodge the question and flip it back to you. They love putting you on the spot but become uncomfortable when you ask them direct questions.

Their service agreement or term sheet will be unreasonable but when you do your proper due diligence of this and question certain items, they will make you feel guilty about the length of time you are taking and say that other Founders signed immediately with them. [This happened to me recently and it was a royal waste of time. That said, I learned who not to partner with].

Beware of any investor who rushes you to sign a contract and gives you a sense of FOMO. There is clearly a reason why they are doing this and when you sign, you will find out. Release yourself from their clutches and kindly excuse yourself. Then when they are not looking, run!!!

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