What Investors Look For When Evaluating Your Pitch: Mohamed Hamdy Overvaluation or terms that are not reasonable for the investors make a great idea, but is not necessary feasible.

By Mohamed Hamdy

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur Middle East, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Shutterstock

When evaluating any investment there are many things to look for, but I can divide them into the following categories:

1. Team. Domain expertise, technical partners. I don't believe in outsourcing key development tasks. You outsource admin work, not development work.

2. Domain. If I am investing here in the region, I would focus on ventures looking to build a utility- basically infrastructure. Another domain I would look for is very specific verticals that are localized. This approach is time-relevant for the current situation.

3. Favorable investment terms. Overvaluation or terms that are not reasonable for the investors make a great idea, but is not necessary feasible. Covenants and valuations are two variables I would look at here in the region; obviously terms get more complicated in the West.

4. Unorthodox advantage. I would like the team or the startup to start their journey with some sort of a competitive advantage which is not assumed. Potential customers that make sense is not one of them, possible JVs also don't count, until it's actual and confirmed.

5. Other investors. I like tagging along with other investors- only with angel and VC investing. In my PE career, that was not necessary especially if I was looking to implement activism across the board and operations. There's comfort knowing other investors are getting on the same boat- smart ones, I don't want to get in trouble and stuck with fools.

Mohamed Hamdy

Managing Director, Turn8 and Partner, Suhail Capital

Mohamed Hamdy is the managing director at Turn8, a start up accelerator program in Dubai, Partner in Suhail Capital, a long/short event driven hedge fund and an investor. 
Side Hustle

'I Was Called Crazy': This 27-Year-Old's Side Hustle Hit $30,000 a Month in Under a Year — Now It's Worth Millions

Changing regulations forced Angel Rodriguez's jet ski rental company to shut down, and the young entrepreneur had to figure out his next move — fast.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Science & Technology

Want to Make Money With AI? Here Are Easy Steps to Unlock Explosive Profits in 2025

Learn to turn Google AI Studio into a profit-boosting machine with this three-step framework. Train AI to analyze data, uncover sales opportunities and maximize profits.

Side Hustle

This 31-Year-Old Spends 2 Hours Per Week On His $3,000-a-Month Passive Income Side Hustle: 'Trust Your Vision'

Hansel Moore's home office "wasn't cutting it" — so he found another place to be creative.

Business News

Sheikh Hamdan and Elon Musk Announce the Dubai Loop Project

The partnership aims to revolutionize transportation in Dubai.