Tips on how to attract investors’ attention

Choosing an investor is like getting married and not using a lavish wedding and an exotic honeymoon. And it’s difficult to break up. Therefore, when selecting an investor, the flexibility to find the fitting partners is incredibly essential. But how to recognize them? In his book , Michael Simpson discusses this topic intimately. Below are a few of an important channels that he believes every entrepreneur should learn about.

Get a warm introduction

Without a doubt, the easiest way to reach other people is a warm introduction, i.e. an introduction from a mutual friend or acquaintance. An investor is way more willing to take the time to talk to you for those who come verified and approved by someone they know. In fact, warm introductions are the default channel through which enterprise capitalists (VCs) study recent firms. Investors receive much more offers annually than they might ever estimate (e.g., Sequoia receives over 3,000 offers per 12 months). That’s why they need filters. That’s why VC web sites often haven’t got an obvious email address to which entrepreneurs can send offers.

As a result, it is incredibly essential that you simply spend your time and energy looking for and making requests to individuals with good contacts, moderately than cold calling them. But not all warm introductions are created equally. If the investor doesn’t really know, like or respect the person you might have in common, your possibilities of meeting could also be limited moderately than increased. The investor will naturally transfer to you all of the features he associates with the person introducing you.

Create a solid profile

Well found is an identical service for investors and entrepreneurs at an early stage of development. It is essentially the most powerful online tool available for meeting with investors. It allows you to search an enormous database, filter as you want and reach your audience. Wellfound’s popularity has grown so significantly that your startup profile is usually the primary place an investor or candidate will look when trying to study your organization.

Connect with them on their blogs or social media

Many investors write blogs and use social media. People, regardless of their size, love receiving positive comments. Some investors even discover trades through their comments. One way to reap the benefits of this chance is to construct relationships through commenting. Shortly after publishing your post, write a thoughtful and reasonable response. Do this enough and you’re going to get noticed. If you wish to raise money immediately, this is not one of the best approach, but it may be fruitful if you might have a while to implement.

Five suggestions for the worst method: cold email

Of all of the methods of reaching your audience, cold emails are one in every of the worst uses of your time. They may fit, but asking to pitch to investors is the very best ROI networking activity you possibly can engage in. That said, for those who need to write something, listed here are five suggestions to ensure your email is received:

• Say it briefly and really directly. Introduce yourself and state your query clearly in the primary few sentences. The investor will try to answer the primary query: who is that this person and what does he want?
• Check the person you’re sending the message to and personalize the e-mail as much as possible. For example, praise the recipient for his or her recent achievements (e.g. funding round, product launch, etc.). Never, ever send mass cold emails to multiple people at BCC.
• Avoid sending it on Mondays. VCs typically hold all-day meetings with partners, so that they collect a variety of emails throughout the day. Also, don’t send it on Friday after 12:00 – if the investor doesn’t receive it before the weekend, it might be lost without end.
• Suggest specific meeting times and follow-ups. For example: “I’m in San Francisco January 5-7 and may meet between 1-5 p.m. on any of those days. Offering specific options eliminates friction and increases the likelihood of response.

These are only a couple of of an important channels for meeting one other investor. For those of you who’ve successfully raised VC funding, what would you add to this list?

The secret to raising money.