What All Founders Should do Before and When Asking for Investor Intros
It’s hard to get intros in general, but as with anything, it can be easier if we prep for success. Below is a 5 step guide that early-stage founders can use before and when asking for intros to investors.
Highlight: The content in this post is what I generally share with founders who ask for a double-opt-in from me and, more often than not, founders get the intros they want.
Alright. Dig into the guide, chronologically, and in order to be effective, don’t skip steps.
1 Identify investment funds that match your industry, stage startup, etc.
2 Once you identify the firms, you need to figure out what investor on each team is most likely to be of added value to your startup and champion your startup as a potential investment.
3 Build relationships with your list of investors. You can read more on Step 1–3 in What All Founders Should Do Before Fundraising.
4 Minimal assets for your team to create:
- Investor pitch deck. Here’s a post that can help you with that.
- Cover letter email with the following sections: (1) about: 2–3 sentences that describe startup, market size; (2) traction: 3–4 metric bullet points; (3) differentiator: 2–3 sentences explaining why your startup will win; (4) team: 2–3 sentences covering the relevant background of the team; (5) press: 2–3 links; (6) contact info.
5 Then, create a list of whom you can request double-opt-in intros to your target investor list. When you reach out to ask for a double opt-in intro, please structure your email in the following format:
- Subject: Intro Request to [name of investor] <> [your startup’s name]
- Salutation.
- Your ask: Would you be able to make a double-opt-in intro to [name of investor] investor at [investment firm]. Note: this investor should be off the investor list you created in Step 2.
- 1–2 sentences on why you think that investor would be interested in speaking with you. Note: You’ll also want to craft customized emails for each double-opt-in intro.
- Offer additional info. “For your and their reference, I include additional info about [name of your company] below my signature.”
- The info below your signature should be the content from your cover letter (which you created in setup 4)
- Express your gratitude and hit send.
That’s it!
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If you’d like to learn more, you can take my course on
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About Lolita Taub
Lolita Taub is the Co-Founder and General Partner at The Community Fund and acting interim Head of Sales at Catalyte. She is a first-generation Latinx operator and investor pushing for diversity in tech. With 15 years working within the Silicon Valley ecosystem, she has accomplished +$50 million in sales and made 38 investments as an angel investor and VC at Backstage Capital. Lolita is also a Co-Founder of the Startup-Investor Matching Tool, a scout at Indie.vc, Venture Partner at NextGen Venture Partners, and an LP at Operators Collective. Forbes, Inc, and Entrepreneur have featured her as a women in tech promoting diversity. She has a BA from the University of Southern California and an MBA from the IE Business School. Most importantly, she is a dog mom to the cutest Dachshund mix, Choco.
