Most founders start fundraising by collecting names. They end up with a spreadsheet of 400 investors, half of whom have never written a cheque at their stage. The result is weeks of emails and very few replies.
The founders who raise fastest do the opposite. They build a short list of investors who are a near-perfect fit, and they reach each one personally. Here is how to do that.
1. Decide what you are raising before you look for who
Write down four things before you search:
- Stage: angel, pre-seed, seed or Series A.
- Round size and cheque size: a $1.5M seed round usually means one lead writing $500K to $1M and five to fifteen smaller cheques.
- Sector: the one or two sectors an investor would file you under.
- Geography: where your company is incorporated and where you will hire.
These four answers remove more than 90% of investors from your list, which is exactly the point.
2. Filter for investors who invest at your stage
An investor's website says "seed to growth". Their portfolio says they have not done a seed deal in three years. Always check what they actually did recently.
Good signals that an investor is active at your stage:
- A new investment announced in the last 12 months at your stage.
- A partner who writes or speaks about your sector.
- A fund raised in the last two years (they have money to deploy).
In the EasyFundraise investor database every profile shows the stages, sectors and recent deals, and a fit score explains why each investor matches your company.
3. Separate leads from followers
At seed, most investors will not commit until someone else has set the terms. Mark which investors on your list lead rounds and start with them. Once you have a lead, followers become much easier.
4. Find the right person, not just the firm
Emailing a firm's general inbox rarely works. Find the partner or principal who covers your sector. If an associate covers it, that is fine: associates source deals and can champion you internally.
5. Look for warm paths, then go cold with confidence
A warm introduction from a founder the investor backed is the strongest route. But a short, specific cold email works far better than most founders expect, especially at pre-seed and seed. Read our guide to cold emailing investors for templates.
6. Keep the list small and the follow-up tight
Fifty well-matched investors, each contacted personally and followed up twice, will beat 400 generic emails. Track every conversation in a fundraising CRM so nobody goes cold between follow-ups.
Where to find investors
- Investor databases such as EasyFundraise, with filters for stage, sector, cheque size and geography.
- Portfolio pages of companies one or two years ahead of you: their seed investors are likely to back you too.
- Angel networks and syndicates in your city.
- Accelerator demo day lists and investor newsletters.
- Founders you know: ask who was most helpful in their round.
Ready to build your list? Browse angel investors, seed investors and venture capital firms by country, or start a free trial to see fit scores for your startup.