6 ms·

Red flags in emails to angel investors

103 points by duck 15y ago

shingen 15y ago
It's a decent list, however, it's a red flag if my Twitter account isn't up to date and or if it's non-existent? Better spec that I own an iPhone and use Foursquare while you're making a list of obnoxious requirements. Uh oh, I don't even have a Pinterest account yet! The proper response to an angel that red flags on something like that is: sorry, I'm too busy doing actual work to worry about whether my Twitter account is existent and up-to-date, I'm going to pass on allowing you to invest into my company.
- epi0Bauqu 15y ago
  For the record, I don't own an iPhone and don't have a Pinterest account either (though I'm guessing you were being snarky there). However, at the seed stage you're investing in people and a quick way to start finding out about people is through their online profiles. So no, you don't need those things, but it makes it quicker to learn about you. Also, on a higher level, if you're doing an Internet startup I would expect you would be trying out and engaging in various Internet services. If not Twitter, than something. That said, and as I linked to in the post (http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/blog/2010/10/pitch-decks-are-missing-a-key-ingredient-history.html http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/blog/2010/10/pitch-decks-are-...), I think conveying personal history in one way or another is very important.
  - shingen 15y ago
    There's a big difference as a developer, between knowing all about Twitter, it's platform and APIs, having used Twitter accounts enough --- and worrying about whether I've got my personal Twitter account up-to-date. I don't have the time to tweet several dozen times per day (what it would really take to learn anything meaningful about me @140 characters a shot). Period. It's not worth the time trade. Should I be tweeting so I can have a couple thousand followers (half of which are literally worthless)? Or should I be throwing that hour a day into my business? I could give you a simple bio that would be far more concise and useful than what you could possibly extract from Twitter postings. And, you don't like wasting your time either: if you have to scan my Twitter posts to compile a picture of me, you're going to waste a huge amount of time I could save you with that simple bio.
    - fredsters_s 15y ago
      I agree with your sentiments, but here's the difference: you could write anything in a bio. And in a CV. That's why socially verifiable information is always preferred. When trying to get an idea of what someone is like, flicking through their Twitter / LinkedIn / HN posts is far more informative and reliable (and quicker) than reading a bunch of prose they wrote about themselves.
      - rayhano 15y ago
        But this all mostly a box to be ticked, to verify whether a conversation needs to be had...
      - shingen 15y ago
        Obviously you could write anything on a Twitter feed. People embellish the hell out of their LinkedIn profiles, just like they might a resume. I don't believe Twitter qualifies as a valuable form of due diligence for an investor. Should Zuckerberg be worried about what Wall Street thinks of his Twitter account? One post in three years probably implies he just isn't with the times. https://twitter.com/#!/finkd https://twitter.com/#!/finkd It's not looking good for Zuck. You know what's a lot more reliable than me tweeting about Whitney Houston's death? The product I create and show you. Brass tacks. The rest is a superficial sideshow.
        fredsters_s 15y ago
        Are you equating a cold-calling investment prospect with Mark Zuckerberg? I don't believe Twitter qualifies as a valuable form of due diligence for an investor No disrespect, but you're belief is incorrect. Anything and everything about you online is used when doing DD. Of course, if your product is fucking awesome, then the fact that your Twitter stream is empty is irrelevant. But if your product is fucking awesome, you aren't cold-calling VCs. VCs are cold-calling you.
        tatsuke95 15y ago
        >"Anything and everything about you online is used when doing DD." Having what, for all intents and purposes, is an employer judge - or worse yet misjudge- me based on my interests, or the articles I read is precisely the reason I'm moving away the merger of my online/offline lives. I recently put my money where my mouth is and deleted my Facebook account. >"However, at the seed stage you're investing in people" This always sounds like horseshit to me. Can some one point to some good examples where this model has been truly successful? Why aren't VCs actively recruiting college campuses, then? It seems like you're missing out on a huge chunk of great candidates if you're always selecting "people" from a small subset who are seeking funding for their (possibly terrible) technology startup.
- sskates 15y ago
  I think people in this thread are reading too much into his list of requirements. He's telling you some of the details you can get right that will help him to decide to invest in you, and you're taking them literally. I don't use twitter, but I don't think he'd hold it against me if I were asking for his investment. He just wants an easy way to look at my online presence, so something like a blog/stackoverflow/HN account/github/Facebook would be helpful too.
MartinMond 15y ago
I like how on his angel investment page here http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/angel.html http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/angel.html it says Not interested in [...] anything involving physical products. and on the side he lists an investment in WakeMate.
- epi0Bauqu 15y ago
  Maybe you can connect the dots there.
  - MartinMond 15y ago
    I'm not sure what you mean? It's pretty obvious what this implies isn't it?
    - dmix 15y ago
      Most likely that getting WakeMate manufactured was a painful experience and he wants to avoid physical products now.
    - janlukacs 15y ago
      Most likely he got burned with the "real" world.
    - amirhhz 15y ago
      Perhaps that the real business of WakeMate is the software they build, not the wristband.
    - sskates 15y ago
      WakeMate had a disastrous launch where some of their USB chargers lit on fire. I think Gabriel doesn't want to deal with/feel he can help startups with these sort of problems that only come up when you're making a physical product.
- cjhopman 15y ago
  Hm, you removed important grammatical structure... "Not interested in [x, y, z, just a, b, or] anything involving physical products"
adammichaelc 15y ago
Sounds like a high-maintenance angel investor. "A related red flag is asking me a question or mentioning something that I've obviously addressed in a blog post." This is a red flag for me from the other side. It comes off as out-of-touch to assume that because I want investment from you I will read through your entire blog. I'm sure there's quality information there but reading every post is not a high-value thing to do with my time as an entrepreneur.
- epi0Bauqu 15y ago
  Who said anything about reading every post? There is a search box. If you are asking a specific question to me I would expect at least a cursory search to see if I have written on that topic.
  - boredguy8 15y ago
    Yes, this seems like the angel-investing version of "RTFM", which is reasonable in some situations.
- rayhano 15y ago
  Is there a different kind?
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
rayhano 15y ago
I have found that people are far more responsive on twitter, but the follow up email (after you have their attention) really needs to be special and RELEVANT. Often this is a numbers game. Try lots of investors as each are at different stages (some have the readies, some may not be interested in your sector, etc)
hythloday 15y ago
I appreciate this may be the way the author likes it, but I wonder if they realize quite how asymmetric this is: Don't make me leave my mail client, don't send me long emails, don't make me work to find your Twitter/LinkedIn, don't message me if you're not my target demographic BUT don't get someone to make an introduction for you, make sure you've got your MVP demo-able, make sure you've read everything in my blog (and from the comments here, don't ask questions and expect a personal answer). Given the primary thing you want from an angel is time (which is another way of saying that the most valuable trait of an angel is their experience), this seems like an odd way to market oneself.
- epi0Bauqu 15y ago
  It's a bit more subtle than that. I have time for people past this initial stage, and lots of time for angel investments. But I don't have time to engage fully with everyone who emails me. I simply get too much email and have too much to do for that to work out mathematically. So these tips are more about getting noticed. It's really just advice. If you don't do them will you be completely thrown out? No. I read pretty much everything and give it serious thought. But if you don't do them you're not putting your best foot forward. I also don't think I'm alone here, though I'm of course not speaking for anyone but myself. I suspect that if you did all these things you'd have a much higher conversion ratio, which ultimately will just save you a tremendous amount of time.
- colbyh 15y ago
  If I'm cold calling someone for money and mentorship I feel like the pressure should be on me, honestly. At this point I'm the only one with something to prove, the angel has the luxury of being as picky as he or she wants to be.
  - medinism 15y ago
    I disagree. Investment is a two way street. Angels benefit from deal flow as well so making themselves unavailable does seem odd. If they want to invest in early stage ventures but don't have the time there are plenty of other vehicles to put their money in without being bothered
3pt14159 15y ago
I love this list by Gabriel. I've seen everyone of those mistakes by my startup friends or myself when we were younger. I just wish he accepted Canadians in his investment pool. Not that I'm even looking for investment or anything, but if I was I'd be nice having someone that actually gets machine learning and big data from the ground level. It's worth a valuation significantly less (say half to a third) since the insights he would give and the types of connections he would have (and knowing the difference between which of whom to introduce since he gets the space) would be phenomenal.
mahmud 15y ago
Gabriel is a good guy: approach him.
vaksel 15y ago
how exactly do you personalize an email to an angel investor. Dropping blog posts etc just seems very superficial...and actually saying how they'd be the person to help you just makes you come off as needy. Multiply that by 30-40 people, and it's no wonder it takes people months to raise funds.
- epi0Bauqu 15y ago
  It can be really simple. Ex 1: I see you invested in X, which is similar to what I'm doing for this reason, and so I'd love to get your insight. Ex 2: I read your post on X; we're having this issue now and I'd love to get your insight on this piece. Ex 3: Given your experience running X, I think you could help us with Y. It doesn't have to be long or superficial, though that pre-supposes you do sincerely need help with Y. If you're just looking for money, then that may not be the case. But in that situation, I'm probably not the right angel investor.

103 points by duck 15y ago

It's a decent list, however, it's a red flag if my Twitter account isn't up to date and or if it's non-existent? Better spec that I own an iPhone and use Foursquare while you're making a list of obnoxious requirements. Uh oh, I don't even have a Pinterest account yet! The proper response to an angel that red flags on something like that is: sorry, I'm too busy doing actual work to worry about whether my Twitter account is existent and up-to-date, I'm going to pass on allowing you to invest into my company.

epi0Bauqu 15y ago
For the record, I don't own an iPhone and don't have a Pinterest account either (though I'm guessing you were being snarky there). However, at the seed stage you're investing in people and a quick way to start finding out about people is through their online profiles. So no, you don't need those things, but it makes it quicker to learn about you. Also, on a higher level, if you're doing an Internet startup I would expect you would be trying out and engaging in various Internet services. If not Twitter, than something. That said, and as I linked to in the post (http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/blog/2010/10/pitch-decks-are-missing-a-key-ingredient-history.html http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/blog/2010/10/pitch-decks-are-...), I think conveying personal history in one way or another is very important.
- shingen 15y ago
  There's a big difference as a developer, between knowing all about Twitter, it's platform and APIs, having used Twitter accounts enough --- and worrying about whether I've got my personal Twitter account up-to-date. I don't have the time to tweet several dozen times per day (what it would really take to learn anything meaningful about me @140 characters a shot). Period. It's not worth the time trade. Should I be tweeting so I can have a couple thousand followers (half of which are literally worthless)? Or should I be throwing that hour a day into my business? I could give you a simple bio that would be far more concise and useful than what you could possibly extract from Twitter postings. And, you don't like wasting your time either: if you have to scan my Twitter posts to compile a picture of me, you're going to waste a huge amount of time I could save you with that simple bio.
  - fredsters_s 15y ago
    I agree with your sentiments, but here's the difference: you could write anything in a bio. And in a CV. That's why socially verifiable information is always preferred. When trying to get an idea of what someone is like, flicking through their Twitter / LinkedIn / HN posts is far more informative and reliable (and quicker) than reading a bunch of prose they wrote about themselves.
    - rayhano 15y ago
      But this all mostly a box to be ticked, to verify whether a conversation needs to be had...
    - shingen 15y ago
      Obviously you could write anything on a Twitter feed. People embellish the hell out of their LinkedIn profiles, just like they might a resume. I don't believe Twitter qualifies as a valuable form of due diligence for an investor. Should Zuckerberg be worried about what Wall Street thinks of his Twitter account? One post in three years probably implies he just isn't with the times. https://twitter.com/#!/finkd https://twitter.com/#!/finkd It's not looking good for Zuck. You know what's a lot more reliable than me tweeting about Whitney Houston's death? The product I create and show you. Brass tacks. The rest is a superficial sideshow.
      - fredsters_s 15y ago
        Are you equating a cold-calling investment prospect with Mark Zuckerberg? I don't believe Twitter qualifies as a valuable form of due diligence for an investor No disrespect, but you're belief is incorrect. Anything and everything about you online is used when doing DD. Of course, if your product is fucking awesome, then the fact that your Twitter stream is empty is irrelevant. But if your product is fucking awesome, you aren't cold-calling VCs. VCs are cold-calling you.
        tatsuke95 15y ago
        >"Anything and everything about you online is used when doing DD." Having what, for all intents and purposes, is an employer judge - or worse yet misjudge- me based on my interests, or the articles I read is precisely the reason I'm moving away the merger of my online/offline lives. I recently put my money where my mouth is and deleted my Facebook account. >"However, at the seed stage you're investing in people" This always sounds like horseshit to me. Can some one point to some good examples where this model has been truly successful? Why aren't VCs actively recruiting college campuses, then? It seems like you're missing out on a huge chunk of great candidates if you're always selecting "people" from a small subset who are seeking funding for their (possibly terrible) technology startup.
sskates 15y ago
I think people in this thread are reading too much into his list of requirements. He's telling you some of the details you can get right that will help him to decide to invest in you, and you're taking them literally. I don't use twitter, but I don't think he'd hold it against me if I were asking for his investment. He just wants an easy way to look at my online presence, so something like a blog/stackoverflow/HN account/github/Facebook would be helpful too.

MartinMond 15y ago

I like how on his angel investment page here http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/angel.html http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/angel.html it says Not interested in [...] anything involving physical products. and on the side he lists an investment in WakeMate.

epi0Bauqu 15y ago
Maybe you can connect the dots there.
- MartinMond 15y ago
  I'm not sure what you mean? It's pretty obvious what this implies isn't it?
  - dmix 15y ago
    Most likely that getting WakeMate manufactured was a painful experience and he wants to avoid physical products now.
  - janlukacs 15y ago
    Most likely he got burned with the "real" world.
  - amirhhz 15y ago
    Perhaps that the real business of WakeMate is the software they build, not the wristband.
  - sskates 15y ago
    WakeMate had a disastrous launch where some of their USB chargers lit on fire. I think Gabriel doesn't want to deal with/feel he can help startups with these sort of problems that only come up when you're making a physical product.
cjhopman 15y ago
Hm, you removed important grammatical structure... "Not interested in [x, y, z, just a, b, or] anything involving physical products"

adammichaelc 15y ago

Sounds like a high-maintenance angel investor. "A related red flag is asking me a question or mentioning something that I've obviously addressed in a blog post." This is a red flag for me from the other side. It comes off as out-of-touch to assume that because I want investment from you I will read through your entire blog. I'm sure there's quality information there but reading every post is not a high-value thing to do with my time as an entrepreneur.

epi0Bauqu 15y ago
Who said anything about reading every post? There is a search box. If you are asking a specific question to me I would expect at least a cursory search to see if I have written on that topic.
- boredguy8 15y ago
  Yes, this seems like the angel-investing version of "RTFM", which is reasonable in some situations.
rayhano 15y ago
Is there a different kind?

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

rayhano 15y ago

I have found that people are far more responsive on twitter, but the follow up email (after you have their attention) really needs to be special and RELEVANT. Often this is a numbers game. Try lots of investors as each are at different stages (some have the readies, some may not be interested in your sector, etc)

hythloday 15y ago

I appreciate this may be the way the author likes it, but I wonder if they realize quite how asymmetric this is: Don't make me leave my mail client, don't send me long emails, don't make me work to find your Twitter/LinkedIn, don't message me if you're not my target demographic BUT don't get someone to make an introduction for you, make sure you've got your MVP demo-able, make sure you've read everything in my blog (and from the comments here, don't ask questions and expect a personal answer). Given the primary thing you want from an angel is time (which is another way of saying that the most valuable trait of an angel is their experience), this seems like an odd way to market oneself.

epi0Bauqu 15y ago
It's a bit more subtle than that. I have time for people past this initial stage, and lots of time for angel investments. But I don't have time to engage fully with everyone who emails me. I simply get too much email and have too much to do for that to work out mathematically. So these tips are more about getting noticed. It's really just advice. If you don't do them will you be completely thrown out? No. I read pretty much everything and give it serious thought. But if you don't do them you're not putting your best foot forward. I also don't think I'm alone here, though I'm of course not speaking for anyone but myself. I suspect that if you did all these things you'd have a much higher conversion ratio, which ultimately will just save you a tremendous amount of time.
colbyh 15y ago
If I'm cold calling someone for money and mentorship I feel like the pressure should be on me, honestly. At this point I'm the only one with something to prove, the angel has the luxury of being as picky as he or she wants to be.
- medinism 15y ago
  I disagree. Investment is a two way street. Angels benefit from deal flow as well so making themselves unavailable does seem odd. If they want to invest in early stage ventures but don't have the time there are plenty of other vehicles to put their money in without being bothered

3pt14159 15y ago

I love this list by Gabriel. I've seen everyone of those mistakes by my startup friends or myself when we were younger. I just wish he accepted Canadians in his investment pool. Not that I'm even looking for investment or anything, but if I was I'd be nice having someone that actually gets machine learning and big data from the ground level. It's worth a valuation significantly less (say half to a third) since the insights he would give and the types of connections he would have (and knowing the difference between which of whom to introduce since he gets the space) would be phenomenal.

mahmud 15y ago

Gabriel is a good guy: approach him.

vaksel 15y ago

how exactly do you personalize an email to an angel investor. Dropping blog posts etc just seems very superficial...and actually saying how they'd be the person to help you just makes you come off as needy. Multiply that by 30-40 people, and it's no wonder it takes people months to raise funds.

epi0Bauqu 15y ago
It can be really simple. Ex 1: I see you invested in X, which is similar to what I'm doing for this reason, and so I'd love to get your insight. Ex 2: I read your post on X; we're having this issue now and I'd love to get your insight on this piece. Ex 3: Given your experience running X, I think you could help us with Y. It doesn't have to be long or superficial, though that pre-supposes you do sincerely need help with Y. If you're just looking for money, then that may not be the case. But in that situation, I'm probably not the right angel investor.