Similar Investments
For a given investor, in the right-hand investor sidebar, users can use the “Deal Intelligence” sub-tab to view similar investments.
Qualifying Investors
In forming the pipeline, founders should take time to fully understand the investors that they wish to pursue. In the qualification process, it can be particularly insightful to view and understand any similar investments that a given investor has made.
| Category | Priority | |
|---|---|---|
| “Most Likely” Partners | Highest | Investors that have invested in similar companies before and have seen terrific results may be the “most likely” candidates for your company. These investors already understand your broader space and are bullish on the market opportunity. |
| High Potential Partners | High | Investors that have made a lot of investments in the space but have not yet seen success may also be good targets. They have previously demonstrated an eagerness to invest in the relevant space, but have not yet seen success. For such investors, it will be important to see early in the process how your company has a different angle from the ones that they have previously invested in. |
| Uncharted Territory | High | Investors that have not made investments in a similar or adjacent company may need to be educated around the space. This can be an excellent opportunity to shape the narrative and lead with a compelling thesis on the space that you operate within. |
| Invested in Direct Competitors | Low | If a given investor has invested in a direct competitor, it is important to know that prior to the call. Different founders may manage this information differently, but most investors are unlikely to invest in a given company that is a direct and immediate competitor to one of their portfolio investments. |
The above research is also particularly useful for founders to learn about potential competitors, or about the broader market landscape.
Market Knowledge
Investors often evaluate how deeply a given founder understands his or her market. By talking to customers, founders get a bottoms-up view on user needs and problems. By studying similar companies, founders are able to build a deep understanding of the market opportunity.
In many cases, founders can build a “market map” of companies that operate within their broader opportunity segment. Such market maps often allow founders to build a perspective on how the broader segment will evolve and how their Company fits into the bigger picture.
Accessing Investors
The venture industry runs on warm introductions. In accessing a given investor, a common strategy is to build a relationship with a portfolio founder, and then to use that to get a warm introduction to the investor.
When reaching out to portfolio founders, it is important to have some sort of a common ground that would make the conversation interesting to them. The best type of “common ground” is operating experience in a similar space. Specifically, response rates to cold emails and/or introduction requests from a portfolio founder will be particularly high when you operate in the same space as they do, and when there is an opportunity for mutual learning.
A highly effective outreach strategy is to focus on portfolio founders of similar companies that are not direct competitors, but that operate in a similar space. These founders are likely to engage (as they would be keen to learn from your experience, especially if they find your solution or approach to be compelling).