{"id":41672,"date":"2025-01-22T19:09:19","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T19:09:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/angel-investor\/how-to-reach-out-to-early-stage-investors-pitching-angels\/"},"modified":"2025-01-22T19:09:19","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T19:09:19","slug":"how-to-reach-out-to-early-stage-investors-pitching-angels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=41672","title":{"rendered":"How to Reach Out to Early-Stage Investors \u2013 Pitching Angels"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Personalize your outreach if you want a response<\/h3>\n

As soon as I added \u201cangel investor\u201d to my LinkedIn profile, I was suddenly blessed with an abundance of people who wanted to be my friend.\u00a0Every day, I get at least a dozen messages offering the opportunity to invest in exciting new startups. A bunch more new friends reach out to me by email.<\/p>\n

The ones who do their investor outreach right get my attention. The ones who don\u2019t get a generic response. Most angel investors don\u2019t bother to respond at all.<\/p>\n

Founders are frustrated that they get no replies from investors. Investors are frustrated with an overwhelming amount of spam.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a climate tech investor with a background in energy engineering. It says so right at the top of my LinkedIn profile. If you\u2019re working on a new battery technology, I\u2019m interested in learning more. If you\u2019re developing a new protein bar, creating a better social media platform, or anything that isn\u2019t climate tech, I wish you luck, but don\u2019t waste your time trying to get my attention.<\/p>\n

But being in the right sector isn\u2019t enough. Founders need to do more than identifying the right people. A message that says, \u201cHi, I\u2019m raising $1M, are you interested in investing?\u201d goes straight into the spam heap. So does the 10 page letter in an introductory text message.<\/p>\n

Seriously, if you don\u2019t know how to get investors excited, and we\u2019re a pretty excitable group, how are you going to sell products to sceptical customers?<\/p>\n

If you want a response that leads to a discussion that leads to the possibility of investment, keep reading.<\/p>\n

What You First Need to Know About Investor Outreach<\/h3>\n

Here\u2019s what you need to know about individual investors and angels before you start reaching out.<\/p>\n

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  1. We are not VCs. Investing is not our full time job. Nobody is paying us to review decks and make investments. VCs have interns and associates to take calls with you. We do not. Unfortunately, we don\u2019t have time to respond to everyone who messages us, so be clear about why we should.<\/li>\n
  2. As individuals, it\u2019s impossible to invest with any chance of success in a sector where we know nothing. Smart investors stick to sectors where we have expertise. To invest outside our own sectors, many of us collaborate in angel groups. To apply for funding from angel groups rather than individuals, there\u2019s no shortcut to filling out the application on the group\u2019s website and having it go through the review process.<\/li>\n
  3. The vast majority of outreach I receive focuses on what you need (i.e. money now) instead of what an investor needs (a successful investment.) Your goal is to sell us something \u2014 stock in your business. So put on your sales hat. Don\u2019t tell us you\u2019re raising $1m but why we\u2019ll make money from buying your stock.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    How to Waste Your Time With Ineffective Outreach<\/h3>\n

    Before we get to how to craft an effective outreach, let\u2019s start with what\u2019s guaranteed to get little or no response:<\/p>\n

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    1. Send a very short note asking me to invest. \u201cI\u2019m Michael, CEO of SKB. I\u2019m seeking $1.3 million for app development. Are you looking to invest?\u201d If I respond at all, the answer will be, \u201cSorry, no.\u201d<\/li>\n
    2. Send pages of details. I get too many outreaches that go on for pages. If I don\u2019t know you, then sorry, tl;dr.<\/li>\n
    3. Send me generic content. If it doesn\u2019t say why I personally should be interested, it\u2019s spam. And no, starting with \u201cHey DC\u201d is not personalization.<\/li>\n
    4. Wrong sector: As an individual, I invest in climate tech. It\u2019s in my profile. Like most individual investors in the US, for legal and tax reasons, I can only invest in US-based startups. I even wrote\u00a0an article about it<\/a>. So why are 99% of founders reaching out to me building consumer products, or fintech, or life sciences, or based in London? If you don\u2019t do your homework, don\u2019t expect many responses.<\/li>\n
    5. Ask to me jump on a call. Sorry, I\u2019m busy. I have a job that isn\u2019t investing. I don\u2019t want to spend an hour listening to your pitch only to find out you\u2019re asking for an absurd valuation or the product isn\u2019t ready yet. If I\u2019m interested, I\u2019ll ask you to send me a pitch deck as the next step.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      How to Craft Your Outreach to Get a Positive Response<\/h3>\n

      Now that you understand who individual investors are and what we\u2019re looking for, here\u2019s how to reach out to us in a way that will get the best response.<\/p>\n

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      1. Do your homework<\/strong>. Find investors who focus on your sector. Know who you\u2019re reaching out to and why that person should be interested in what you\u2019re building. Find out what their jobs are, their academic backgrounds, their interests. LinkedIn makes that easy, but don\u2019t stop there. Look at what they\u2019ve previously invested in. Read what they\u2019ve posted on LinkedIn, what they\u2019ve liked on Twitter. How do you fit into their story?<\/li>\n
      2. Make it personal<\/strong>. Every outreach should have a clear answer to the question \u2014 why are you reaching out\u00a0to me<\/em>? It is related investments I\u2019ve made? Is it these articles I\u2019ve written? Is it my background in computational fluid dynamics or something that resonated with you in my novel? Flattery never hurts with investors.<\/li>\n
      3. Keep it short. But not too short<\/strong>. LinkedIn messaging is a text message. Keep it to 5 short sentences to start.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n