In this series of articles I will be answering the question every builder is asking in the Web3 markets: "how do we raise in 2023?"
Preface: before beginning, I must preface this series with a disclaimer that I am going to keep these articles informal, simple, brief, and to the point. I want the builders reading this to relate and truly understand the strategies. Raising isn't as difficult as many think it may be, but you have to execute each stage to perfection; after-all, you're asking someone to believe in you and your vision.
Part 1: How to Find Venture Capitalists
We're going to begin this series by talking about venture capitalist funding in the Web3 ecosystem. Later in the series we will dive into the topics of decentralized raises via crowdfunding, launchpads, and other means.
My business partner and I are often asked questions like: "do you know any VCs? Or, "can you connect us with VCs?" But one thing to note is that these large-scale investors are at the tip of your fingers, in the modern age. You just have to get out and research, network, and make contact.
Step 1: Research
Before you ever consider making contact with a venture capitalist, you have to do your research first. You need to thoroughly understand:
Scale of a VC.
Stages in which a VC prefers to invest.
Investment practices of a VC.
Market segments that a VC invests in.
Prior investments in these market segments.
Successes and failures the VC has seen.
While this may seem like a tall order, it isn't nearly the daunting task it is perceived to be. Before asking someone to give you a six-, seven-, or eight-figure investment you need to have done the research, master the research, and be able to exhibit the research you have conducted.
There are many tools on the internet to assist builders in finding this data. One of my personal favourites is the free-to-use market research website, Alpha Growth.
https://alphagrowth.io/investors (blurred to prevent accidental promotion)
With the ability to navigate a database of known investors in the Web3 ecosystems, and filter by market segment, order by various details, and sort by different criteria you can quickly find a collection of prospective investors that match the top-level scope of what you are building.
Another great free-to-use market research tool is, Crypto-Fundraising.
https://crypto-fundraising.info/deal-flow (blurred to prevent accidental promotion)
Personally, I prefer this research tool when seeking out active rounds in the "Deal Flow" section of the website, to determine investor sentiments and to have clearer vision of what is happening in the space at an exact moment in time. Then I refer back to Alpha Growth for historical data and the contact information of particular investors.
Beyond these two, there is a long list of other great tools that I will share at the end of this series in the "Resources" article. But, for now, the point I want to hit home is that: you need to conduct this research, and you need to conduct it well!
Step 2: Network
Assuming you have done your homework, now you should know which VCs may be a good fit for the business you are building. But it isn't a firm or fund that you are going to be connecting with; you're going to be connecting with people that represent, and make decisions on behalf of, these organizations.
Utilizing the tools in your toolbelt, start collecting the names of individuals from the prospective organizations that you have identified. Alpha Growth is an outstanding tool for this; however, the next step is to find contact information, and/or utilize the contact information already found, for these individuals. So start networking! Social media is a treasure trove of information. Personally, my favourite is LinkedIn:
Search the prospective firms/funds you have identified.
View the business' page.
Go to the "see all employees" section.
Connect with every single person listed.
Headhunt for the decision-makers at the top.
Begin organizing your plan of approach for contact.
Now, it is also important to note that LinkedIn is just a single platform. You've got contact information for identified representatives, from the tools in the Research section. But you want to continue on with multiple platforms (beyond LinkedIn) in the Network section. Seek these individuals and organizations out on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook... anywhere and everywhere you can. See them and have them see you. Make your presence known!
It is important to have yourself and your brand identifiable, as this will support your efforts in outreach (especially in the case of cold contacts).
Step 3: Contact
At this point, you should have conducted your research, found prospective matches to the investment opportunity you have to present, networked and made yourself visible to these prospective investors, and established an even better understanding of these prospective investors by witnessing their activity on various platforms. Now comes the moment of truth: outreach.
If you have done the work outlined in the first two steps, this should be significantly easier than it is often imagined. However, it is a process of trial and error, that requires continual refinement. You will be stonewalled, you will get ignored, you will be strung along, you will receive "no" after "no" before you find a "yes." But, with proper execution along the way, there is a "yes" out there, and you will find it!
Conclusion
This article is only a brief introduction to the steps involved in the process of finding a VC investor for the business you are building. As mentioned earlier in the article, this will be an ongoing series, and we will dive much deeper into the outlined content above, dissecting each process. We will also delve into other topics in the category of fundraising. However, for the sake of brevity, this concludes today's article.
About Me
My name is Anthony Francis and I am a strategic business advisor for the Sydney Houston Group, primarily working within the confines of Web3 gaming market segments. I grew up playing games, I still play games with my kids... I love gaming! I also trade tokens and NFTs in the Web3 ecosystem, and am an avid believer that Web3 technologies can provide extensive value to the gaming industry and elevate the games of tomorrow to levels we never once thought imaginable.
If you enjoyed this article, please follow me here on Binance Feed and on the other platforms shared in my official links below. I will be sharing content on all of the hidden gems and news on the top games being built here in the Web3 ecosystem, in my efforts to advance the Web3 gaming markets and promote mass adoption. I will also be sharing educational content like that in this article, to assist in enabling the success of others in this Web3 ecosystem.
Full transparency: this is not a paid endorsement, I am in no way connected to any of the organizations, tools, or resources discussed in this article. They are simply free tools that I refer to in my day-to-day work. I do not promote the purchasing of tokens, minting of NFTs, or provide any other form of financial advice. Please, always do your own research.
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