3 Tips On How To Meet Investors

A Deeper Dive w/ Bay McLaughlin

Bay McLaughlin
Jul 20, 2017 · 7 min read

The first thing to know is that investors are not your customer, they’re simply one tool for you to get the funding you need. This misconception is one of my biggest pet peeves.

The fact that investors have become the rockstars of the valley rather than the founders, who are the ones taking the real risks to improve the world, bothers me.

While you do need some capital, you shouldn’t make gaining access to us the focal point of your efforts. There is capital in every corner of the world and VC capital is not the only type — and usually it’s not the right type.

So to answer your question about how to gain access to us investors, I will start with the best tips and tricks I’ve learned from my time hustling. I will also address some of the mistakes I have made in past to avoid.

1. The Familiarity Hack:

You can hack both of these without really knowing the people who introduce you at the end of the day. My favorite and the most democratized tool is social media.

One of my favorite ways to ensure familiarity with the growing investor and founder community is to introduce myself to everyone on as many platforms as they feel comfortable on.

I use tools like FullContact, Rapportive, etc. and ensure to add context whenever I can… ‘We spoke at so and so event last quarter’ or ‘we share a lot of similar friends in the autonomous driving space’ etc.

The more context you can provide when you do reach out and the more reference-able or ‘trustworthy/familiar’ you can seem, the better.

I have met Justin multiple times and we have a LOT of mutual connections. This will be an easy online connection!
I have very few mutual friends with Zuckerberg, so this would be much tougher to make an impression via online connections.

Content creation and being present on the right online communities is also key. Medium is an obvious one as it’s become the tech community’s default blogging platform. Reddit and Hacker News are others.

I’ve also built up a lot of familiarity on Whale, which I recommend as video helps create a sense of familiarity much faster than text, even though not everyone watches video. Podcasts are also growing fast in recent years.

2. The Triangulation Hack:

Sometimes, you need to find that one investor and seriously target them. Triangulation is the best way to get those tougher investors out there. Even with a strong endorsement, which is extremely powerful, it’s always better to come across someone’s desk more than once.

We are all very busy and even a good introduction from a close connection can be lost in the shuffle. So it doesn’t hurt to have a backup plan, even if it’s just a mention on social, a connection request, a like, comment, or video response on the investor’s latest social post.

These usually go from the most effective, two warm introductions from other investors or founders that are willing to introduce you, all the way down to multiple social connections that will mention you with them on twitter.

3. The Persistent Hack:

Ultimately always find a way to get what you need for you business. Persistency is best dialed up when you have something truly interesting and when you have some leverage.

‘The worst time to to get loud and on an investor’s radar is when you’re weak and need financing as a last resort.’ — Bay McLaughlin

The worst pitch line ever: ‘We just need money to get started/find users/get traction’. This is one of the oldest jokes in the book. We see it at every pitch event.

If only you had money, then you’d be able to start. Bullshit. Start now and gain every inch that you can in the meantime. You’ll never stop pitching someone, but you should be strategic when you’re hitting up investors.

You can also be persistent in the way that Gary Vaynerchuk always recommends… give, give, give… ask. Find ways you can support or provide any positive vibes to the investors you want to target before you ask to pitch them or get introduced.

It doesn’t have to be anything big. It can be liking, commenting and sharing their content ;-) or making an intro for one of their investments as a way to show support for their founders (also a nice way to make a friend). How about sending other good deals you see their way unsolicited.

Frankly, your voice will have to really break through the noise, but it is the fuel that feeds the investment fire, so if you can even find one opportunity that the investor reviews seriously, you’ll be on their radar from here on out!

What NOT to do:

  • Actually, don’t do this in any part of your life. It feels weird and makes the person you’re asking feel awkward. They have to defend the person they know because they wouldn’t want someone else doing this to them.
  • have to deny your request, which doesn’t feel good and you won’t feel good being told no for something you’re truly passionate about. Find a way to add value first. Maybe ask questions about the investor first. What is their current investment focus? How do they best like to be approached? How can you provide value to them?

Don’t show up at their offices…

Don’t expect to pitch them after a conference…

Don’t pitch then on ideas they don’t invest in…

  • I’m constantly surprised by how many of these I get online, especially LinkedIn and Twitter where you can read my profile. At an event where we have an investor badge on, that’s understandable because the badge doesn’t usually say our stage or vertical. But online, it’s unacceptable and shows laziness. Don’t do this. Take the extra 2 minutes it takes to read their profile and thesis and make an approach only if you fit in.

Finally, don’t impersonate an Uber driver :) Don’t be an Erlich Bachman…


My Thoughts on Current Investor/Investee Dynamic

*Caveat: This is me waxing philosophical :)

People want to know that they’re not going to waste their time and we all use trust or familiarity or warm introductions to make better use of our time. It’s one of our only tricks as humans.

But while this methodology may seem prudent for the investors, it’s not all perfect.

Pros:

  • It’s also one of the reasons why we all have a thesis
  • It creates investment families where hot deals get a lot of funding, which can both help diversify the brains in a deal but also give a good company more capital if they need it

Cons:

  • Good ideas do go unseen, but you can also argue that ideas are a dime a dozen and that a good founder will find a way to get noticed

Learning how to network is as paramount of a strength for a founder as having strong technical or operational knowledge.

Make sure you know how to navigate this complex landscape. And never forget: Don’t be an Erlich Bachman.

Startup Grind

The life, work, and tactics of entrepreneurs around the world. Welcoming submissions on technology trends, product design, growth strategies, and venture investing. Learn more about how you can get involved at startupgrind.com.

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Thanks to Justin Suh and Hilary Howe (née Szymujko)

Bay McLaughlin

Written by

I invest in #IoT #FoodTech #Drones #Hardware #Robotics Co’s 🌎 | @brinciot Co-Founder | ex @Apple @Intercom #LivingInBeta #AskBetaBay| http://betabay.me

Startup Grind

The life, work, and tactics of entrepreneurs around the world. Welcoming submissions on technology trends, product design, growth strategies, and venture investing. Learn more about how you can get involved at startupgrind.com.

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