Ask for advice, and you might get money

Stephen Wools and his business partner Josh Lefers had the whole concept built. They had designed Ballers Clubhouse, done the brand, worked out the food and drink, and were ready to find a site. Then Josh pointed out the obvious problem: it was going to cost a lot.

So they went looking for a partner. Josh had a contact for the founders of Funlab, and they got a meeting with Simon, one of them. A cafe in Albert Park, near his house.

They did not ask him for money. They asked him for advice.

One sentence changed the business model

Simon looked at it and said it was great. Then he offered a single piece of feedback. At that stage the concept was built mostly around ping pong, and his tidbit was that they should do multi-game.

That was the entire contribution. Stephen's view now is that it was the most powerful thing anyone said to them, because it changed the model. Ballers is a multi-game venue because of one line over coffee.

Ten minutes later

They got in the car and drove off. Simon rang before they had gone far and said he had an itch - he wanted to come in.

He became the cornerstone investor and brought his own contact in as CFO. Four Founders, and all four are still there today.

Why it works

Megan's version of this is a saying worth committing to memory: ask for money, get advice. Ask for advice, hopefully get money.

Stephen's read on why is less about tactics than about people. Being asked for advice is flattering in a way being asked for money is not. It invites someone to talk about what they know, which most people enjoy, and it lets them arrive at wanting in on their own rather than being pushed there.

The part people misuse

He is clear that this does not mean never ask directly. His condition is that if you do ask for money, have a genuinely good reason, be able to explain it, and leave no obvious opening to say no.

The trap is treating "ask for advice" as a manoeuvre. Stephen and Josh actually wanted Simon's opinion, and the value of it is why the story is worth telling at all. The investment followed because the conversation was real.