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Types of Portfolio Founders

All portfolio founders fall into one of the following categories –
1

Significant Success

Includes founders that have seen significant success and/or have delivered strong financial returns to the investor in the past. An introduction from such a founder is the most effective pathway and has the highest likelihood to result in a call.
2

Recent Founders

Includes founders that have raised from the investor recently. These founders likely have a warm and active relationship with the investor and can make effective introductions.
3

Distant Founders

Includes founders that raised from the investor a long time ago and may not be in contact anymore. These founders may or may not be able to make an introduction with the investor.
To access each of the above types of portfolio founders, a nuanced and custom approach tends to work best.

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How to Access Portfolio Founders

As a first step, users should connect their data sources within Metal, enabling the platform to flag a given investor’s portfolio founder(s) that the user already knows and/or can easily access. As shown in the above screenshot, Metal highlights portfolio founders for a given investor that the user already knows (in green), or that may be accessible via the user’s existing investor network (in orange). With these founders, response rates are generally the highest. If the user does not see any portfolio founders that s/he is connected with (highlighted in green), or that are identified as accessible (highlighted in orange), then the best option is to reach out to a select set of portfolio founders via custom cold emails to land introductory calls. In order to maximize response rates on such emails, users should try to implement the following best practices –
  • Research Portfolio Founders w/ Common Ground – Instead of reaching out to portfolio founders indiscriminately, identify ones that you have common ground with (I.e. building in the same sector or geography, similar past experiences, etc.)
  • Write Compelling and Personable Notes – Cold emails work best when they are compelling and personalized. You can refer to this section here for guidelines on writing compelling introduction requests.
If managed the right way, the above process is known to be effective at building access.
For guidelines on network expansion, refer to this section.

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How to Approach Portfolio Founders

If a given user knows a portfolio founder for a prospective investor quite well, then it may be best to reach out with a compelling blurb to request an introduction. Generally, founders are very open to forward introduction requests to investors – in doing so, they are helping the investor get deal flow and are building social capital. However, most founders are discerning in that they want to avoid passing along blurbs or decks that aren’t particularly compelling. Users should, therefore, be particular about structuring their blurbs and decks to make these compelling. If a given user does not know a portfolio founder for a prospective investor, and is reaching out via a cold email, then it may be best to request a call. That way, users can allow the recipient an opportunity to vet the opportunity (before passing along to their investor).
For guidelines on how to make compelling intro requests, refer to this section.