How to find investors?

The advice to research recent investments/projects/interests is right but understated — most founders treat "investor research" as a one-time list-building exercise and then go quiet for 6 weeks while they pitch.

The signal nobody tracks: what did the investor post on Twitter/LinkedIn yesterday? An investor who tweeted "looking at supply chain plays this week" on Tuesday is a wildly different cold email opportunity on Wednesday than an investor who hasn't posted publicly in 3 months. Timing the outreach to a real moment converts roughly 5x better than blasting from a static list (informal data from MentionFox INVEST users).

Lists are dead, pulse is alive. Even if you don't use a tool, set up Google Alerts on the top 20 investor names from your shortlist.

Try to find similar projects and analyze who already invested on them. Then create a list of potential investors, prepare your materials and analysis -> send them email OR contact them via LinkedIn (VP-level Managers and Directors). When you have first valuable feedback it will be easier to find the right investor(s) :)

If you are looking for SaaS investment, make sure you are familiar with the pros and cons of each funding source: Angel Investors, VC, RBF, Bootstrapping and Crowdfunding. With individual VC firms receiving more than 1,000 proposals a year, the investors are picky as a result, which means you’ll have to make a strong case or risk losing out.

Here's how to approach an investor:

1. Do research on your investor’s history in the industry: recent investments, projects, interests.

2. Get an introduction, set up a meeting between you and the potential investor, attend SaaS-related events.

3. Create a business plan, which should include:

• An executive summary outlining your company's mission statement and a clear description of your products or services.
• A company description outlines your business goals, your target market, and the solutions you can offer them.
• A market analysis highlighting your business’s strengths and how these compare to competitors.
• A clear description of your team, including their roles and responsibilities.
• A marketing plan showcasing how you plan to budget for advertising, target the right customers, and successfully promote your product via various channels.
• A sales plan that documents sales reps needed, along with plans for onboarding sales staff or outsourcing these services.
• A request for funding stipulating the size of the investment you need and how you’ll use the capital you’ve raised.
• Financial projections showing the financial goals you’ve set for your business. Make sure you base these on market research.

Get a hang of your start-up with our guide on how to find, attract and secure your startup funding here: https://bit.ly/3jfVzR9

Hey Giancarlo, that's a question you could write essays about 😂

Some random thoughts/advices about the topic:

• First build a MVP and get some users. Numbers always convince investors best.
• There are three types of investors: Friends/Family; Angels; VCs – It's the best you read about use-cases for all of them. They should be considered in that exact order.
• Not every startup is relevant for venture capital. Does you product has the potential to be values at 10bn in 10 years? No? VC-money isn't the right way for you.
• You should also always think about if it's possible to bootstrap your project (building a startup without investor money). That really pays off in the long run e.g. if you plan an exit and don't have to give away anything of the money :)

Good luck on your journey. What are you planning to build?