Interacting with Investors On Social Media

I’ve been asked personally, I’ve seen it frequently on Quora, and tons of entrepreneurs “Google it” everyday: “How do I meet/interact with angel investors or venture capitalists?”

I started getting asked this question after I wrote my article, “How to Leverage Cyber Dust for your Startup” and Mark Cuban (@mcuban or +mcuban) shared it on Twitter and CD a few times. Quite honestly I found it pretty funny that a lot of people thought this made me “buddies” with Mark, and that wasn’t the case at all! We’ve never even had a full conversation. All of my avid readers on Medium understand I write about the baby steps we’re taking with Straviti (no longer working on this-but the guys who are will kill it!) and the long journey it takes just to start the process. Trust me, I fucked up A LOT in the months leading up to even beginning to create our product. Disclaimer over.

I have had a lot of success with one thing early on: getting my questions answered by highly successful people via social media, and frankly it’s not hard. I have three go-to platforms Periscope, Cyber Dust, and Twitter. I have two go-to billionaires Mark Cuban and Chris Sacca (@sacca). And I have ONE strategy.

Use the social media platforms they have invested in to ask thoughtful questions that require an answer anywhere from one word to a two-minute explanation.

This strategy has been highly effective, and the simple answers have given me a ton of knowledge. Why? First of all, these two guys recognize the importance of humanizing the businesses they invest in. Just look at their Twitter streams- Cuban is constantly talking to people about Cyber Dust, and Sacca is constantly talking to people about Twitter and Uber. These two know the importance of relating to the users of their products, and both have released their private email addresses to the public. Secondly, Mark is invested heavily in Cyber Dust and Sacca is invested heavily in Twitter, which acquired Periscope. If you want to find the best way to contact them guess where the three most likely places are…

Periscope: I have to admit, this one is my favorite purely because it’s real time and it’s easy for Sacca to give me an in-depth answer. I’ve asked about 5 questions during his “ask me anything” and I’ve gotten 3 answers. When you think about it, a guy who is getting thousands of emails a week has given me 1–3 minute answers three different times. That’s pretty damn good.

Cyber Dust: Close second because you can come in contact with a lot more people than just Mark Cuban, and fellow dusters know that it is very likely he’ll answer your questions. The only reason it’s #2 is because usually they are quick responses, mostly one word. However, if you do some background research and read Mark’s blog posts, one word answers from him have a lot more meaning than you think. I’ve gotten the response, “Selling.” and it completely changed my outlook on our approach with Straviti because I read his thoughts on selling prior to the question being asked.

Twitter: This comes in 3rd because you only get 140 characters so it’s hard to get in-depth answers. Also, you have a lot more competition trying to connect with investors because it’s a more widely used platform. But never underestimate the power of Twitter. Following the right people can give you answers to your questions inadvertently, and when you do connect publicly with a big name investor it’s more likely that other people will see your product and check you out.

The third success factor is timing, check out when investors are most active on social media and time it up with when the least amount of people are asking questions. It’s not difficult to find the “sweet spots” for interaction. For example, both Cuban and Sacca invest in a lot of companies, they have families, and they most likely wake up earlier than you do and go to bed after you do (depending on your timezone). The best times to reach them on social media are usually early in the morning or late at night. Think about it; slower businesses hours, kids are asleep, and they have some rare free time. Micheal Bloomberg has famously said, “The best time to strike is when the gatekeepers aren’t there!” Successful people are successful because they work harder and longer than anyone else. This means they’re in the office before and after all of the secretaries or other employees are there. They’re answering the phones.

To tie it all together, if you search for platforms where investors have skin in the game, time it right, and ask questions worth answering you will be able to start interacting with them. This doesn’t mean they are going to invest in your company or become your mentor, but it gives you a better shot down the road. Make sure you ask them questions about their lives and companies as well. Nobody wants to talk to some dickhead who only cares about him/herself.

Additions:

Things have changed since I originally wrote this. Due to my schedule and current shift from school to the work force, I couldn’t give Straviti the time it deserved. I felt my cofounders were better off without me slowing them down. Also, I decided to put my efforts towards new opportunities.

One of those opportunities came from my approach previously outlined in this post, and some additional tactics I’ve learned since. Now I’m not only interacting with VCs and successful founders, I’m working with them.

My current role is connecting with the best startups & entrepreneurs I can find, and introducing them to the all-star team of VCs at Binary Capital. Essentially, now I am on the side of the table.

Whether you’re trying to get funding or get into venture, the same rules apply when trying to meet VC’s:

1. Use the strategy previously outlined: Use the social media platforms they have invested in to ask thoughtful questions that require an answer anywhere from one word to a two-minute explanation.
2. Create content: Put yourself and your ideas out into the world (Twitter, Medium, Periscope, etc.). Don’t worry about your ideas being stolen, execution is everything. Secondly, it’s not about how many people read it- it’s about who reads it. Get your thoughts in front of the right set of eyes. If you’re targeting VCs make sure you are mentioning them or people they follow when sharing content. If they like it, they will share it- that’s when the other readers consume it. Sacca was the 8th person to read this original post. After he shared it, hundreds of people read it.
3. Don’t forget about the “little” people: This is the most important rule, and it relates to rule #2. Getting your content in front of the right eyes does not always mean getting a VC to share it or respond to it immediately. You’d be surprised who follows the random girl with only 200 followers that just “liked” your tweet. In my case, that “random girl” knew the VC associate that contacted me about my current position. The same thing applies when looking for funding. Usually a cold email or tweet to a general partner won’t get you anywhere, but that same email/tweet to an associate at their firm or founder in their portfolio can get you funded. The typical General Partner is receiving tons of warm intros daily, and they don’t have time to perform due-diligence on a startup they’ve never heard of. You can’t get a warm intro if you’ve never built a relationship with someone they know first. For example, I’m not even an associate at Binary, but my sole purpose is to build relationships with founders looking to add value and raise money for their startup. This means there is a 100% chance you will get a response from me. That dialogue could lead to me introducing you to an associate or principal. If they see that you’re a fit, now you have a shot to pitch the general partners and accomplish you’re goals. It’s about building relationships with everyone. If you aren’t committed to having that mentally you won’t meet the people you want to meet, and you won’t be able to sell your product either.
4. Have patience: The first piece of content you write on Medium probably won’t be shared, the first tweet you send to a VC probably won’t be answered, and you probably won’t find funding the first week you start looking. That’s ok. Good things come to those who hustle. Keep generating content, keep building relationships, keep working on your startup and everything else will come. I wasn’t actively looking for an opportunity in VC when I got it. But, I was actively preparing for it because I wanted it. If you need capital for your startup don’t put 100% of your time into looking for it. Focus on building your product, growing your user base, and preparing for how you’re going to pitch an investor. If you’re putting 100% of your energy into just looking you will be unprepared and ultimately blow the opportunity you looked so hard to get.

I hope these additional guidelines help you build the relationships you’ve been looking for. As always, feel free to contact me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/scottmaronic or by email: scottmaronic@gmail.com