A few things: 1. A lot of advice on here is "Don't raise, just bootstrap". Recognize that while bootstrapping is an option, it puts 100% of both upside and do

A few things: 1. A lot of advice on here is "Don't raise, just bootstrap". Recognize that while bootstrapping is an option, it puts 100% of both upside and downside risk on you. If your business does well, great! If it doesn't, it's all on you. You've invested (and lost) your own money. Seed funding allows you to hedge that. If the business does well, your investors get x%, but x is generally fair. If it doesn't do well (and most don't statistically), both you and your investors share in the hit. 2. You've said "someone with a product". How's traction and adoption for that product? Do you have users? Are they paying you? What's your current growth rate? If you have strong answers to these questions, don't be shy about reaching out directly to investors. Warm intros are preferred by investors (hell, by anyone), but investors are in the business of making investments. If you have a solid company, you'll get a meeting. 3. Network like your life depends on it. No elite connections? Start making some connections. Go to a conference or a meetup. Are there any accelerators in your area? (e.g., I'm in Toronto and we have MarsDD and CDL here). Get known in your community. Talk to other entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs, for the most part, like to pay it forward. They asked for intros when they were new and they're generally happy to do the same for newcomers. If you network well, you can expect to meet with 50+ investors over a period of 2 - 3 months.