Should founders limit outreach to a small, carefully chosen set of investors, or take as many investor meetings as possible?

David Tisch · published Feb 27, 2023

Venture is wrongly viewed as an asset class — firms are small businesses with independent investment styles and beliefs — so the best thing a company can do is get in front of as many investors as possible

Because each firm's approach is genuinely unique, no one can predict which companies will fundraise well, and breadth of exposure is what finds the fit

35:13 20VC: How Multi-Stage Funds Changed The Game For Seed Rounds, Why Signalling Risk is BS, The Three Most Important Variables for Founders When Raising Rounds & A Debate on Portfolio Construction: Does Ownership Matter with David Tisch

Sam Corcos · published Dec 11, 2023

Founders should take as many investor meetings and pitches as possible rather than treating investor contacts as scarce, precious resources

Fundraising is about finding people who already get the vision, so volume of exposure matters more than conserving contacts

0:00 20VC: Why Founders Should Take as Many VC Meetings as Possible, Should Founders Meet Associates, How to Get Intros to the Best VCs, How To Extract the Most Value From Your Investors, Why Post IPO Operators Are the Best Angels with Sam Corcos @ Levels

Sam Corcos · published Dec 11, 2023

Founders make a major early mistake by treating investor contacts as precious gems and refusing to talk until the idea is fully baked; you should cast a wide net because you have more than one shot on goal

Meeting an investor early and then returning with improved numbers demonstrates real progress, which is more compelling than a single polished pitch

Scope: applies especially to early-stage founders

26:15 20VC: Why Founders Should Take as Many VC Meetings as Possible, Should Founders Meet Associates, How to Get Intros to the Best VCs, How To Extract the Most Value From Your Investors, Why Post IPO Operators Are the Best Angels with Sam Corcos @ Levels

Sam Corcos · published Dec 11, 2023

Founders should take as many investor meetings and do as many pitches as they can, rather than sequencing tiers strategically

Feedback from good investors tends to be genuinely valuable and they have far more exposure to your market category, including competitors you've never heard of

27:48 20VC: Why Founders Should Take as Many VC Meetings as Possible, Should Founders Meet Associates, How to Get Intros to the Best VCs, How To Extract the Most Value From Your Investors, Why Post IPO Operators Are the Best Angels with Sam Corcos @ Levels

Dan Siroker · published May 15, 2024

The conventional wisdom that a fundraise should be run privately with a handful of recommended Sand Hill Road investors is wrong; founders should cast a wide public net instead

Adding an investor is like a marriage without the possibility of divorce, so choosing from only five offices you happened to walk into is absurd when social media lets you cast a wide net and find the actual best fit; his public deck got millions of views and thousands of offers

35:15 Cast a wide public net rather than limiting to a handful of private sand hill road investors

Dan Siroker · published May 15, 2024

Inviting the investors who bid above your chosen price into a roll-up vehicle gives you the best of both worlds: a great lead plus hundreds of small investors who act as evangelists

The smaller investors become supporters who amplify launches and retweet company news

37:27 Invite over bidding investors into a roll up vehicle to combine a great lead with evangelist investors