How to Find Venture Capitalists Who Fit Your Round

To find venture capitalists, start with VC firms that invest at your stage, in your sector and at your check size, then find the one partner at each firm who backs companies like yours. Reach that partner through a warm intro if you can, or a short LinkedIn and email note if you can't. A tight, checked list beats a long list of famous funds. Nobody honest can promise you a term sheet.

That's how to find venture capitalists in one paragraph. This guide covers VC firms only. For angels and family offices too, see our wider guide on how to find investors. At Investor Links, we build VC lists and run outreach for founders raising seed to Series B every week.

How do venture capitalists find deals?

Mostly through people they already trust. In a survey of 885 VCs by Gompers, Gornall, Kaplan and Strebulaev, over 30% of deals came through professional networks, another 20% were referred by other investors and 8% came from a portfolio company. Almost 30% were found by the VCs themselves. Only 10% came inbound from company management.

So a cold deck sent to a generic inbox is the weakest route in. You get better odds when a VC hears about you from someone they know, or when your note lands with the right partner and makes the fit obvious.

Step 1: Pick VC firms by stage, sector and check size

Venture capital investors are not interchangeable. A firm's stage, sector and check size decide whether it can even say yes.

• Stage. Seed funds, early-stage VCs and growth funds back different rounds. Check the stage of the firm's recent deals, not only its website.
• Sector. Look at what the firm has backed lately. A fund that has never backed your sector rarely starts with you. For one sector example, see who funds fintech startups.
• Check size. Their usual check should fit your round. A fund that writes small checks won't lead a large round.
• Lead or follow. Some firms lead rounds and set terms. Others only join once a lead is in. You need to know which you are pitching.
• Recent activity. A firm with no new deals in a long while may be between funds and not writing checks.

For typical round sizes by stage, see our seed, Series A and Series B benchmarks. Not sure a VC is the right investor at all? Read family office vs venture capital.

Step 2: Find the right partner inside each firm

You don't pitch a firm. You pitch a person. At most VC firms, one partner or principal leads deals in each area, and a note to the wrong one is easy to ignore.

• Read the team page. Match each partner's focus and past deals to your company.
• Check LinkedIn. Confirm the person still works at the firm and still covers your sector. Our guide to LinkedIn investor outreach covers how to use it well.
• Look at their portfolio. Founders they backed can tell you how they work, and can sometimes make an intro.
• Check every email. Use a verification tool and drop anyone you can't confirm. Bounces hurt your sending domain.

Step 3: How to approach venture capitalists

Approach venture capitalists through a warm intro first, and a short, specific note to the right partner second. Because so many VC deals come through networks and referrals, a warm intro is worth chasing. The best ones come from founders the VC has backed, other investors and people who know you both. Our guide on how to get a warm introduction to investors covers how to ask.

When there's no path in, cold outreach still works if the list is tight and the note is short and specific to that partner.

Step 4: What VCs check first

The team, more than anything. In the same survey, 95% of VC firms named the management team as an important factor and 47% named it the most important. Business model was named important by 83%, product by 74% and market by 68%. Your first note should show why your team can win, in one or two lines.

• One line on what you do and who it's for.
• One line of traction. Revenue, growth, pilots or signed customers. Whatever is true and strongest.
• Why this VC. A recent deal or focus area that matches yours.
• The round. How much you're raising and at what stage.
• A small ask. A short call, or permission to send the deck.

Step 5: How to get VC funding once a VC is interested

Expect a long funnel. In the Gompers survey, firms considered about 101 deals for every one they closed, and only about one in four opportunities led to a meeting with management. The average deal took 83 days to close. That's why founders talk to many VCs in parallel, not one at a time.

From first call, the usual path is a partner meeting, then due diligence, then a term sheet, then legal documents and closing. Have your deck, data room and cap table ready before your first VC call. If you're raising a private offering, ask your lawyer how you're allowed to market it. This is not legal advice.

When to hire help to find VCs

Doing it yourself often works when your VC list is short, you know the space and you have time each week to check contacts and follow up. Hiring help tends to pay off when you need a long list of VC firms and partners, or you'd rather spend your hours on the deck and the calls.

When we run it, we use the same four steps for every raise:

• A call about your raise. We go over your stage, round, timeline and the VCs who fit. It starts with a free consultation call.
• A verified list. We build the list in Apollo with partner names, emails and LinkedIn profiles. Each firm is checked for recent activity and fit, and every email is checked before anyone sends.
• LinkedIn and email outreach. LinkedIn runs through HeyReach and email through Instantly. Copy is written around your deal and traction, and we handle follow-ups and replies.
• Meetings and weekly numbers. Warm replies are handed to you for the meeting. You get weekly numbers on opens, responses and meetings.

We're not a broker-dealer or a placement agent, and we don't take a success fee on the money you raise. We don't promise funding. Raising for an AI company? See how we reach AI startup investors. Want only the list? See investor list building.

Frequently asked questions