Every investor is throwing money at AI. But if you’re building in an unsexy area, is raising money even possible?

A frustrated consumer hardware founder recently posed this question to Reddit. He’s seeing VC’s rip huge checks into AI while he’s struggling to raise any money at all.

But there’s good news: investors are still investing in consumer hardware and other non-AI startups! Here’s what I look for in these companies…

Founders With a Killer Track Record

For any startup, by far the most important factor is the founder. I look for founders that have achieved something exceptional. 

Let’s take the example of that consumer hardware startup….

Ideally, they were involved with creating a successful consumer hardware device in the past. But exceptional can come in a lot of forms.

Maybe the founder was a child chess prodigy. Maybe he built a car wash business to a $1 million a year in revenue as a teenager. 

I recently invested in a fellow who led the team behind the world’s first commercial spacewalk. Now that’s an exceptional founder!

A Team with Technical Chops

In addition to some exceptional accomplishment, I’m looking for teams with real engineering ability. I want teams that are mostly or entirely technical. 

For consumer hardware, I want to see people with backgrounds in hardware and software engineering. You usually need both to make a device work. 

If the team is all idea guys, on the other hand, that’s a red flag. They just don’t have the skills to make their vision a reality. 

The Prototype

A great team is a wonderful starting point, but I also want to see a basic prototype.

I’m definitely not expecting a polished device that’s ready for market. A prototype is more like a sketch…a gesture toward what the product will be.

I’m expecting janky. I’m expecting wires all over the place.

I just want to see the founders actually building something. 

Wrap-Up

If you’re a founder building in an area that isn’t hot, raising money might seem impossible.

But you don’t need every investor to believe in your vision. You only need a handful. 

Gather a team of hardcore engineers. Hack together a prototype. Then start contacting VC’s.

You might be surprised how much money you raise!

More on tech: 

Meet My Latest Investment: Verustruct

Three Management Secrets from Jensen Huang

Elon Musk (Part 1): Overcoming the Odds

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