Top Free Investor Lists — The Best 7 Lists of VC/PE, and Angels (2023)
Last Updated: 7/27/2023
Investors lists are a great place to start when you currently don’t have a reliable network you can count on when it comes to securing funding for your business.
Regardless of the stage where your business is in, you can use an investor list to develop a comprehensive plan to systematically approach interested parties, whether those are Private Equity (PE) firms, Venture Capital (VC) firms or Angel Investors (AI), in order to pitch your business to them in the hope that you can successfully raise the capital you need.
Here’s a list of the Top Free Investors Lists you’ll find out there, along with some guidance on the most important details you should keep in mind if you intend to use one to look for funding.
#1. ProAI by Pro Business Plans (Voted #1 Free List)
Type of List: Free Investor Database | Visit The Site
The investor database on ProAI by Pro Business Plans, is comprised of more than 160,000 + active venture capitalists, private equity firms, angel investors, and family offices globally that is entirely free.
Whats best about ProAI’s investor database is it takes information about your business and recommends a list of investors most likely to invest using AI and information it knows about your business.
It takes into considering things such as your industry, company stage, location, and more and compares that across its entire list to find those with a similar investment thesis and check size by replicaing the same methods of investment banking groups.
#2. Crunchbase
Type of List: Limited Free Investor List | Visit The Site
With over 55 million active users, CrunchBase is one of the largest financial networking platforms in the world, providing access to both entrepreneurs and investors with valuable information about investment transactions, investor lists, funding rounds and acquisitions. The platform offers three service packages:
· Basic Package (Free / Limited): 3 search filters, first 5 results per search.
· Pro Package ($348 a year / Unlimited): 25 search filters, 1,000 results per search, export results.
· Enterprise Package (Customized): API access, Salesforce integration, Bulk exports.
#3. AngelList
Type of List: Free List of Angel Investors | Visit The Site
Angel List was specifically designed to help startups, professionals and angel investors to connect through a user-friendly platform where entrepreneurs can recruit workers for their young businesses or they can also browse through the website’s list of angel investors in different regions of the world. Additionally, angel investors can register on Angel List to discover new investment opportunities and they can also benefit from their in-house fund management tool.
#4. LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Type of List: Limited Free List of VC/PE Professionals & Firms | Visit The Site
LinkedIn is the largest professional network in the world with over 650 million users of 200 different countries. While the platform is usually employed for the purpose of recruiting individuals for different job positions, there are many other interesting uses that entrepreneurs could give to its advertising feature, including reaching out to potential venture capital and private equity firms to pitch them your business. You could do this for free by browsing through the platform’s database by yourself, or you could try their LinkedIn Sales Navigator solution for $99 a month to advertise directly to individual angel investors and investment firms.
#5. Invstor.com
Type of List: Limited Free Online U.S. Investor List | Visit The Site
Entrepreneurs can use some of the limited free features of the list of investors provided by Invstor.com. These features allow them to filter their extensive database by location, funding amount, industries, type of funding, and type of investor. Additionally, if the user wants to reach out to any of them, they can do so through the platform. Nevertheless, that particular feature is tied to the payment of a $59 per month membership fee.
#6. Investor Scout
Type of List: Limited Free Worldwide Investor List | Visit The Site
Investor Scout provides entrepreneurs with a database of over 52,000 angel investors, venture capitalists, and private equity professionals they can reach out to by filtering different characteristics.
One of the most convenient features of this service is that users can short-list the investors they wish to pitch their idea to and they can export their information to a CSV file they can use to e-mail them directly.
The information compiled on these investors includes their e-mails, phone numbers, social media profiles, and websites. Investor Scout offers a free 3-day trial with limited access and features and they also offer another three paid packages starting at $69 per month with unlocked premium features including search filters, access to e-mail information, export to CSV capability, and customized investor lists.
#7. FINTRX
Type of List: Limited Free List of Family Office | Visit The Site
FINTRX was launched in 2014 to help entrepreneurs and other asset raising professionals in their effort to establish connections with family offices based in the United States. Through their Family Office Data Intelligence platform, they hold information on hundreds of family offices that can be filtered by the amount of assets under management (AUM), their location, past investment and work experience, industries of interest, and educational background, among other important characteristics that will allow the user to shortlist the best candidates for their capital raising efforts.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Free Investor Lists
How do I use an investor list?
An investor list is not necessarily a golden ticket that will ultimately get you the funds you are looking for. At least not if you don’t use it wisely.
Having a list of investors, you can pitch your idea to is a great place to start your journey but the way you approach them, the relevancy of the materials you send, and many other elements will play a key role in the success of your capital raising efforts.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind when you use one of these lists to reach out to potential investors:
· Short-List First — Sending e-mails to more than 250,000 investors (such as the ones provided by the Pro Business Plans investor list) is not a good idea, especially if you want to both save some money and avoid being filtered out as SPAM. You should go through the list first to screen out the best possible candidates based on their past investment experiences, the success of their ventures, and the size of their funds. You should profile your ideal investor and use the list as a matching tool.
· Think Like They Would — Before you start crafting your cover letter put yourself in your ideal investor’s shoes. The question you should answer yourself at this point is, why should I consider this proposal on top of these many others? If you manage to crack the way your investors think it will be easier to pitch them your business in a way that they will find it hard to say no.
· Customize Your First Approach — These investors are used to getting dozens if not hundreds of e-mails per day that have zero personal touch. They will probably go through some of them but you can bet they will pay close attention to those that highlight some aspects of the way they work. If you already know the investor’s profile you should consider customizing your e-mail in a way that shows them why you are a match with their investment preferences and goal. This may sound time-consuming, but it will increase the chances of getting past the front door of their e-mail inboxes.
· Include Relevant Information Only — You probably have a lot to say about your business and that’s alright. You should be passionate and excited about what you are trying to build. Nevertheless, keep in mind your prospective investors have tight agendas and they only spend a few hours (or even minutes) a day reading through the materials they receive. Additional to your cover letter and main pitch, you should include only crucial information about your business. Maybe a fact sheet and your contact information. If they are persuaded by these initial facts, they will get back to you to ask for more information.
· Don’t Spam — Sending an e-mail and a few follow up messages should be enough to make sure your proposal is read. Don’t lose the opportunity of pitching your idea just because you went too far on your effort to reach out to these investors.
What is the best way to contact investors?
Some of the platforms named above provide you with tools to reach out to the investors registered on their databases. These tools may include instant messaging apps or secure e-mail platforms you can send your information from. In other cases, the lists provide you with e-mails, phone numbers, social media profiles, and websites of the investor directly.
Traditionally, using the website’s platform (if applicable) should be one of the most effective ways to start a friendly first approach. On the other hand, most professionals use their e-mails to maintain a more formal communication where different materials can be exchanged.
After you have established the first connection, and if you see interest on their side, you should consider setting a meeting on Skype or Zoom to get to know each other a little better. Like any relationship, the pace and the specific details of your encounters will ultimately depend on the preferences of each of the parties involved.
What other resources can I use to find investors?
You could rely on your closest network to find and approach investors. Perhaps your family and friends know someone who is in the private equity or venture capital industry, or maybe they have heard of an angel investor associated with someone they work with.
You could also talk to your business network, such as your suppliers or employees, or even some colleagues, to see if they know someone they can recommend to you.
What’s the difference between angel investors, VCs, and private equity firms?
Angel investors are typically high net worth individuals who invest their own money in early stage startups. They usually invest smaller amounts, from $25k to $100k.
Venture capital (VC) firms raise money from limited partners like pensions and endowments and invest that capital in early stage companies. They typically invest larger rounds of $500k to $5 million.
Private equity (PE) firms raise money to invest in more mature companies, often for growth capital or acquisitions. They invest much larger amounts, usually $10 million+.
How do I find angel investors in my local area?
- Check AngelList for angels located in your city or state. You can filter investors by location.
- Attend local startup pitch events and networking meetups. Many angels attend these to scout deals.
- Ask other local founders who they received funding from. Angels tend to invest close to where they live.
- Search LinkedIn for “angel investor” in your city. Reach out and ask for an introductory call.
- Look up the local angel investing groups in your area. Most have a website listing their members.
What metrics or traction do investors want to see?
Investors want to see evidence that people are using and loving your product. Metrics they look for include:
- Monthly active users (MAU)
- Annual recurring revenue (ARR)
- Customer acquisition costs (CAC)
- Customer lifetime value (LTV)
- Churn rate
- Revenue growth rate
The specific numbers will vary by industry, but aim for millions of users, 7+ figure ARR, and strong growth month over month. Traction reduces risk for investors.
How many investors should I reach out to for my funding round?
As a general rule, plan to reach out to at least 100+ investors for an early stage round. The odds of any individual investor saying yes is low. You need a large funnel to have a chance of securing investment.
Focus on investors that have backed similar startups in your space. Avoid spraying generic emails to every VC firm. Personalized outreach converts better.
Leverage your network for warm introductions to increase response rates. An intro from a mutual connection gives you instant credibility.
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