With investors deploying record amounts of capital, founders and executive in search of cash don't have to look too hard for it these days. But it's important to remember that not all investment dollars are created equal. The right investors add value to their portfolio companies in a number of ways, bending the long odds of startup success in the founder's favor.

　　随着投资者的资本投入不断创造新记录，寻求现金的创业者和执行官这些天不需要太辛苦的找钱了。但是切记，不是所有的美元投资都生而平等。正确的投资者以很多方式为他们的资产管理公司增值，在有利于创业者的情况下寻求初创者成功的长期机会。

　　Here are three different ways early-stage investors can bring value to their portfolio companies.

　　这里有早期的投资者给他们的资产管理公司带来效益的三种不同方式。

　　Experience and expertise

　　经验与专业

　　Experience is one of the critical ingredients an investor brings to the party. Often, as founders themselves, they've walked in the entrepreneur's shoes and have faced the same challenges before. Alternatively, they're career investors who've seen a boatload of portfolio companies jump over the same obstacles.

　　经验是一个投资者带给组织最重要的组成部分。通常，创始人自身，站在企业家的角度并且以前已经面对相同的挑战。或者，他们是已经看到一打资产管理公司迈过这些坎的有经验的投资者。

　　Either way, they've seen many of these movies before. Take advantage of their pattern recognition and eagle-eye view on your industry landscape to get insights into where things are headed and what competitors and other startups in your field might be working on. It's your job to find the investor with the right expertise and lean on it heavily.

　　另一种方式，是他们以前已经看到这种场景很多次了。利用他们对你行业的模式识别和鹰眼观察来洞察事情的走向以及你所在领域的竞争者和其他初创者在干什么。寻找到有正确专业技能的投资者并多多依靠他们。

　　Expertise is worthless without availability, however. While a potential investor may have helped build Facebook from 1 million to 2 billion users, how available will that expertise be to you? An unavailable superstar is just a check in the bank or a name on the cap table. An investor with too many portfolio companies can also be a red flag, as their attention will be spread thin. The right investors not only invest their dollars, but also their time and expertise.

　　然而，没有可能性，专业性是没用的。当一个潜在的投资者能帮助Facebook从一百万增长到二十亿用户，那项专业性怎么能到你这?不能利用的超级明星只是银行里的一张支票或者市值表里的一个名字。与许多资产管理公司有关联的一个投资者也会亮红灯，因为他们的注意力被摊薄了。正确的投资者不止投资金钱，也包括他们的时间和专业性。

　　Important caveat: Not every founder needs a VC to take a hands-on approach. For rocketship startups, the best way for VCs to add value is often just to write a check and get out of the way.

　　重要警告：不是每个创始人都需要天使投资来采取一个动手实践的办法。对一个太空船的初创者，天使投资增值的最好方式是常常只是写个支票并离开。

　　Company building

　　公司建设

　　Expertise is great, but ultimately a business that doesn't hire good people and grow revenue is not going to be successful. The right investors can help you with the day-to-day drudgery of building a company.

　　专业性是非常好的，但最终一项生意不雇佣好人才实现收益是不会走向成功的。正确的投资者能够帮助你在日复一日的乏味工作里建设一个公司。

　　When an investor comes on board, their network should become your network. They should introduce you to potential exec hires or connect you to business development leads. As part of an investor's diligence, they may call potential customers that they can connect you to during their process, adding value regardless of whether an investment comes through. The right investors also raise the profile of their portfolio companies through press connections or inside access to events through speaker slots or free passes.

　　当一个投资者进入董事会，他们的网络应该成为你的网络。他们应该将你介绍给潜在的管理者雇员或者将你与商务开发领袖联系起来。

　　Don't be afraid to regularly ask your investors for help. VCs aren't passive bankers –they're network-rich former entrepreneurs or industry folks who invested precisely because they felt that their unique backgrounds allowed them to give you a competitive advantage. They have skin in the game and your success is their success.

　　不要担心一直需要你的投资者帮忙。天使基金不会消极对待精确投资的银行家-他们是网络-富裕的前企业家们或者行业同仁，因为他们感到独特的背景将会使他们给你一个竞争优势。他们共担风险，你的成功也就是他们的成功。

　　Future financing and exits

　　未来财务与离开

　　Part of your startup's journey is to grow in revenue and valuation, raising steadily more and more money from different kinds of investors. The right investor will add value by helping you complete your next round of fundraising by connecting you to their VC community network. If you happen to be the belle of the ball and spoiled for choice among investors at the next stage, your current investor can provide insights into your options.

　　你的初创旅程的一部分就是扩大财政收入和价值，稳定提高从不同类型的投资者中获利金额。正确的投资者将会通过把你融入他们的天使社区里来帮助你完成下一轮融资实现增值。如果你碰巧是舞会上的美女，并且在下一阶段被投资者们的选择宠坏了，现在的投资者可能会对你的选择提供深入洞察。

　　Finally, investors can help you decide when and how to exit your company. They have either exited their own companies or helped their portfolio companies do the same, so they are well equipped to help you reach a successful outcome. They can intro you to the right corp dev people and provide strategic advice as conversations progress. When conversations progress far along enough, they can help you sift through matters of culture fit, post merger integration, value capture in an earn-out deal, and of course, deal terms and price.

　　最后，投资者能帮助你决定什么时候以及如何离开公司。他们或者是离开了自己的公司或者帮助他们的资产管理公司做了同样的事，所以他们已经被武装好来帮助你达到成功的结果。他们能够给你介绍合适的公司开发人员，并提供策略性的建议作为谈话进程。当谈话进程足够远，他们在一项盈利能力支付交易中，当然是交易条款和价格，能帮助你筛选出切合的文化事件、并购整合和价值获取。

　　Get a full-time cheerleader

　　找一个全职的拉拉队长

　　Investors add value in two primary ways: their internal attributes and their external resources. Internal attributes are the expertise they bring and the willingness and availability they have to share it with you. External resources refer to the network they can deploy on your behalf, whether it's a megaphone in the press or a whisper in the ear of the right corp dev exec. The best early-stage investors add value on both sides of the coin.

　　投资者通过两个主要方式增值：内部特征及外部资源。内部特征是他们带过来的专业性以及愿意并能够与你分享。外部资源是他们能代表你开发的资源，无论是在发布会的一个扩音喇叭或者是在合适的公司首席的耳朵旁的一次低语。最好的早期投资者在这两个方面都增值。

　　Ultimately, you want a true consigliere that you can call day or night to ask for advice, not just someone who reports for duty at board meetings. Running a company is a 24/7 endeavor – investing in one shouldn't be the domain of part-time cheerleaders who only chime in once a quarter.

　　最后，你需要一个真正的军师，不仅仅是在董事会会议中有报告职责的一些人，以便无论白天黑夜都能寻求到建议。运营一个公司是24/7的折磨，投资一个公司也不是兼职，也不是只有1/4的时间鸣笛的拉拉队长领域。