The best founders in the world have their choice of investors. So I’m not waiting for them to contact me — I’m going to them.
When I started as an angel in 2021, I let the deals come to me. These days, I’m doing a lot more outbound.
Here’s how I do it…
Trolling for Startups
One of my favorite ways to find startups right now is Crunchbase. I use a little hack I learned from Jason Calacanis at his excellent Angel University program.
I search Crunchbase with these criteria:
– Raised up to $750k
– Founded in the last year
I’m looking for pre-seed and seed stage companies, so I want companies that have not raised too much. And I’m looking for new startups, not those that go years without clearing market for a seed round.
Then, I go to each company’s website. Does the product look compelling?
If so, I find the founder on LinkedIn. I explain who I am, how I found them and tell them what I loved about their product.
Vast majority of the time, I get the meeting.
Getting Aggressive
I take any avenue necessary to meet a great founder. Here’s an example…
On Tuesday, I found a really interesting aquaculture SaaS company on Crunchbase. But wow, were these guys low profile!
I couldn’t find them on LinkedIn or anywhere else. Then I spotted an open Calendly on their website.
“Well, better to ask for forgiveness than permission,” I thought to myself.
This was probably intended for customers. But I booked a time with it anyway, clearly explaining that I was an angel investor and I thought their product was really cool.
Turns out, the founder was very happy to hear from me! We’ll be chatting soon.
If It’s Good Enough for Sequoia…
Look, I’m not the most high profile investor. I’m not Jim Goetz at Sequoia.
I can’t expect the best founders on the planet to pitch me. I need to go to them.
But it turns out, I’m in good company.
When Sequoia noticed a new product called WhatsApp climbing the App Store charts, Jim Goetz cold messaged Jan Koum for months. Jan never responded.
But Jim didn’t give up. He kept messaging him and eventually, Jan agreed to meet — perhaps just to make the messages stop!
Sequoia won the deal. Later, WhatsApp was acquired for $19 billion.
If the greatest investors on the planet have to hustle, so do I!
Wrap-Up
No matter who you are, your network’s only so big. Some good deals will come to you, but many won’t.
That’s why I like to go out there and find them.
It’s also a lot of fun! Trolling for startups feels like a treasure hunt.
Pretty soon, you’re talking to a really interesting founder with a great product. You may even be the first investor they’ve ever met.
And if their product starts to hit, you’re in pole position to make a bet.
Investors: how do you find startups? Founders: how do you find investors?
Leave a comment and let us know!
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!
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