\n<\/p>\n
As these things frequently happen, a fight broke out on LinkedIn about the only<\/em> way to reach investors.<\/p>\n A pompous VC was ranting that cold outreach doesn\u2019t work and founders should just stop. Don\u2019t do it, he shouted to the universe of startup founders. Without a warm intro, he claimed, founders were wasting their time.<\/p>\n I butted in, as I often do, telling him he was flat wrong. In fact, warm intros are entirely useless for reaching out to angel groups.<\/p>\n Random and irrelevant comments ensued. It\u2019s difficult to illuminate a complicated topic with a 2 sentence response.<\/p>\n This is a critical question, though, perhaps the most important one for founders \u2014 how can you reach investors? The answer depends on what type of investor you\u2019re trying to reach.<\/p>\n There are 3 different types of investor. Each requires a different way to reach them:<\/p>\n As the original poster, a GP at a venture fund, stated, cold outreach to the partners and associates at a decent-sized fund is a waste of time.<\/p>\n Some funds have a contact form to send them your pitch deck; most don\u2019t even bother. Emails to partners, text messages, LinkedIn \u2014 all gets ignored. Anything other than a warm intro from a trusted source goes straight into the trash.<\/p>\n Think you have the perfect pitch for a16z? Khosla? So do ten thousand other founders. For large VCs funds, it\u2019s don\u2019t call us, we\u2019ll call you.<\/p>\n So how do you get them to call you? Start by building success. Get customer traction. Grow quickly. Become the center of a new industry. Generate FOMO. If you\u2019re doing well in a super-hot sector like AI, they\u2019ll find you. Oh, you want a shortcut to getting their money now, not when you reach Series B in five years?<\/p>\n In that case, your only hope is a warm intro. But it truly needs to be warm<\/em> \u2014 an investor in your startup who knows someone at the VC personally.<\/p>\n I know a handful of VCs and CVCs well enough that I can shoot over a pitch deck and say, \u201cHey Vera, is this something you might be interested in?\u201d<\/p>\n My other 20k connections on LinkedIn? Not useful. Random people I met at a demo day 5 years ago or connected after reading a post. For those contacts, an intro from me isn\u2019t even lukewarm, it\u2019s arctic cold. My outreach will be no better than your own, especially if I\u2019m not even an investor in your startup.<\/p>\n The biggest mistake, though, is expecting VCs to invest at pre-seed or earlier. If you have a warm introduction, great. You might get a chance to speak with a partner who will tell you the same thing, but in a more polite manner. It can\u2019t hurt. It\u2019s good investor discovery. They might even tell you what milestones they require before investing. But they\u2019re not going to fund your business now. So don\u2019t waste your time trying to find warm intros to reach them.<\/p>\n Before that, it\u2019s angels and angel groups.<\/p>\n Long before VCs will write you a big check, your most likely source of funding besides friends and family is small checks from angels. And here\u2019s where Mr. Pompous VC was dead wrong.<\/p>\n Unlike VCs, cold outreach can be effective to reach angels. Warm intros, of course, are always better, but many angel investors like me will respond to a personalized, well-written cold intro for a startup in their area of interest.<\/p>\n The key, here, though is \u201cpersonalized\u201d, \u201cwell-written\u201d, and \u201cin their area of interest,\u201d Because 99.7% of the outreach I receive is not.<\/p>\n You have to approach angels as individuals. Most angels, especially at the very easiest stages, don\u2019t even consider themselves to be investors. They won\u2019t have angel investor in their profile, and you won\u2019t find them on pitchbook or packaged lists of investors.<\/p>\n Unlike later investors, they won\u2019t invest in your startup because they think it will generate a 100x return on their money. They\u2019ll invest because they get what you\u2019re doing and want you to build the solution to their problem. They might be customers, might be suppliers, or might be industry professionals. They\u2019re closer to friends and family than financial investors.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re building a lawtech startup, find a dozen lawyers to invest $25K each. A medtech startup \u2014 reach out to doctors. AI for restaurants \u2014 get restaurant owners involved. If they\u2019re not interested, it\u2019s a strong signal your startup isn\u2019t solving a critical problem for your intended customers.<\/p>\n Where will you find those investors? Well\u2026the same place you find customers \u2014 personal connections and introductions, industry events, and yes, cold outreach on LinkedIn or by email.<\/p>\n But a cold call saying, \u201cI\u2019m building an AI for Lawyers startup, can I send you a pitch deck,\u201d will be greeted with silence. At the earliest stages, we\u2019re not throwing money at founders. We\u2019re joining your journey. You can\u2019t start with investment. You need to start by building relationships. That means finding people whose advice, guidance, and assistance you value, whether they decide to invest later or not.<\/p>\n Before reaching out, understand what we\u2019re interested in. Then craft a short, personalized message about why we should be interested in your startup. Follow my outreach tips here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Later, after you have customer traction, you\u2019re ready for angel groups.<\/p>\n Rather than trying to get 40 angels to each write a $25K check, it\u2019s far easier to get 4 angel groups to write $250K checks.<\/p>\n And here is where Mr. Pompous VC is 100% wrong. Because for angel groups, warm intros get you nothing.<\/p>\n I am VP of Chemical Angels<\/a> and on the executive committee of Tech Coast Angels<\/a>. In both roles, I\u2019m frequently asked to take warm intros with founders. I\u2019ll look over a pitch deck or have a short zoom call. If I think it\u2019s relevant for the group, I\u2019ll tell the founders to apply online.<\/p>\n But whether I think it\u2019s relevant or not doesn\u2019t matter a whit. Once the application is in the system, it goes to the pre-screening committee which will vote on whether to bring it to a full screening, and after screening, the members vote on whether they\u2019re interested in learning more or not. Despite my executive role in the group, I\u2019m just one member out of a hundred.<\/p>\n So don\u2019t waste your time on outreach, whether warm or cold. Just go to the website and apply.<\/p>\n What kind of outreach works depends on what type of investors you\u2019re trying to reach.<\/p>\n For VCs, don\u2019t bother with cold outreach. In fact, until you\u2019re ready for Series A, don\u2019t bother with VCs at all.<\/p>\n For angels, warm intros help, but well-written cold outreach can land, too.<\/p>\n For angel groups, warm intros get you nothing. You have to apply to the group and proceed through the screening process.<\/p>\n For all investors, though, a warm intro is not an email from someone I met at a conference seven years ago saying, \u201cHey DC \u2014 here\u2019s a deal you might find interesting, can I introduce you to the founder?\u201d<\/p>\n A warm intro is another investor who\u2019s spent weeks in diligence before writing a check, and is inviting me to join her. And those are the only introductions that matter.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The 3 Different Types of Startup Investor and the 3 Different Ways to Reach Them As these things frequently happen, a fight broke out on LinkedIn about the only way to reach investors. A pompous VC was ranting that cold outreach doesn\u2019t work and founders should just stop. Don\u2019t do it, he shouted to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7072398,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12034],"tags":[2214,15463,19007,13177,11223,6605,3022,219],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-7072397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-angel-investor","tag-angels","tag-depends","tag-intro","tag-investor","tag-investors","tag-pitching","tag-type","tag-warm"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
Reaching Out to VC Funds<\/h3>\n
Reaching Out to Individual Angels<\/h3>\n
Reaching Out to Angel Groups<\/h3>\n
Does Cold Outreach Work? Do You Need Warm Intros?<\/h3>\n