See: Why you should get more than money from an investor

In the new Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch broadcast show, founders enter the Entrepreneur Elevator and have just 60 seconds to pitch their idea, product or business to a panel of investors. Whether an entrepreneur is invited into the boardroom or sent back downstairs depends on what our experts think in that first minute. Here, we break down the lessons aspiring entrepreneurs can learn from each episode’s releases.

There are many reasons why entrepreneurs seek financing for their businesses. They may be ready to speed up manufacturing and may not have the resources to do so. They may need the capital to invest in getting the word out about the new product they have developed. Often they simply need access to the many valuable resources that investors have at their disposal.

However, for many company founders, investors bring a much more important asset to a startup. Most investors are seasoned professionals who can bring experience and knowledge to a particular business. In the sixth episode of Entrepreneur’s new streaming series Elevator Pitch, we meet a group of founders who are in desperate need of this kind of expert guidance. Here are three important lessons that entrepreneurs can learn from the episode.

Investors are consultants.

First up on the episode were Jared and Karina Rabin, the husband and wife team behind the Hang-O-Matic, a popular picture-hanging tool. At first, these two raised “bait and switch” concerns. They spent most of their presentation talking about their already successful product, then suddenly revealed that they wanted to invest in a newer tool. Know that in these situations, investors will generally want a piece of the original, successful product before considering anything else. Otherwise, they’ll probably send you packing.

So the investors agreed to let the Rabins up to the boardroom, but if the investment wasn’t specific to the original tool, they weren’t interested. After all, the couple already made it clear that they had more than enough profit to finance their planned new product.

Fortunately, Jared and Karina quickly revealed that their main interest was in finding a business partner who could advise them as their venture progressed. That means they were okay with investors taking a stake in the original product, not just the newer one. Investors were immediately interested and agreed to serve as a consulting team in exchange for shares in the company. This was a perfect match for the couple, who were exhausted after years of working nights and weekends to build their company. The success of this launch clearly shows that investors can be very valuable advisors to their portfolio businesses. Be open to the idea that this could be the relationship you need, too.

Market test first.

Dawn Maslar, author of the book Men Chase, Women Choose, approached the panel with a product called the Devotion Test. After taking samples of a man’s saliva, she said, the test can detect whether a man is engaged to the woman he is currently with. The panel was feeling a bit unsure about Maslar’s product, but they were curious enough to invite her into the boardroom anyway to hear more.

Once inside the boardroom, Maslar failed to win over investors. His biggest quibble was that they just weren’t convinced there was real customer demand for their test. With a track record of sales or proven market research, you may have been able to debate this objection. Though she didn’t have that. All that she actually had her own opinion of her. Investors’ decision to opt out demonstrated the importance of having market data before approaching investors.