Guidelines for Intro Requests
When requesting introductions, a detail-oriented and data-driven approach delivers the best results. Users running VC-backed companies have to request introductions on a daily basis. It pays off to view intro requests as an important skill to learn and master.
In a previous post, Fred Wilson has written extensively about double opt-in introductions that have become a norm in the technology industry. In a similar post, Alex Iskold of 2048 Ventures has written a useful post on how to ask for introductions. The below visual highlights the flow for how introductions typically work:
In order to maximize “forwarding conversion”, and to optimize “opt-in conversion”, users should put in significant effort to request well-researched and high-quality introductions. In particular, there are two specific best practices when requesting introductions.
Well-Researched Intro Requests
Users should make well-researched introduction requests, specifically seeking out investors that are a strong fit for their business.
Through the language of the introduction requests, users can demonstrate their level of research by indicating what makes the investor a strong fit. The below table outlines various ways to do this:
| Similar Investments | Users can reference a given investor’s prior investments that are particularly similar to their business. See details here on how to identify similar investments efficiently |
| Sector Focus | Users can indicate the percentage of the investor’s total investments in their parent sector (I.e. Consumer, or B2B Software). See details here on how to capture that data efficiently |
| Stage Focus | Users can reference the percentage of the investor’s total investments in the user’s specific stage (I.e. preseed, seed, Series A, etc.). |
Generally, response and success rates tend to be much higher for introduction requests that demonstrate a high level of research on a particular investor.
Personalized Requests
Users should avoid mass or bulk emails, and instead should personalize each request. This takes time and effort, but yields much stronger results. The two most common types of personalizations are noted below:
| Person Specific | Include some piece of content in the intro request that is unique to the recipient, or the user’s relationship with them. |
| Company Specific | Include some aspect of the recipient’s company to make the request personalized. |
With recent developments in automated workflows, it becomes particularly important to avoid the communication being perceived as mass or AI-driven automated outbound.
The below section provides various templates to illustrate well-researched, targeted and personalized introduction requests.
Template 1
Scenario: Via Metal, the user looked up the portfolio founders for her target investor. Via the LinkedIn and Gmail integration, the user was able to identify a few portfolio founders that she knew from her prior work experience.
Hi John,
It’s been a few years; I hope you’re well. I noticed you started Company X and raised a seed round from ABC Ventures. I recently launched Bonotos, offering accounting software for month-end closing, and we’ve achieved within 10 months.
ABC Ventures seems like a great fit for us. They focus on seed investments (30%+ of total portfolio) and , and recently invested in Optima which operates in our space and offers accounting software for a different but adjacent problem.
Would you be open to potentially introducing us to ABC Ventures?
Template 2
Scenario: Via Metal’s intro pathways functionality, the user identified a portfolio company (Company X) of one of his existing investors that has raised capital from Investor X. The user decides to write to their existing investor to request an introduction with Company X to learn about the process with Investor X and to land a potential introduction.
Thanks for offering to make potential introductions for our upcoming raise. As per our preliminary research, we have identified Investor X as a particularly strong fit. They have made and have been particularly active in our sector.
I noticed that one of your portfolio companies, Company X, has previously raised from Investor X. If possible, we would love an opportunity to chat with the founders at Company X to learn about the process, and to potentially get an introduction with Investor X.
Would you be open to seeing if the founders at Company X are open to connecting with us over a quick 15-min call?