Introduction

Partnering with the right investors is essential for startups that want to scale successfully. 

Bootstrapping can help get your idea off the ground. However, startups, even those generating sales early on, can still struggle to find sufficient funding to cover their existing operations and scale. That’s why investors are so important to startup success.

Investor funding — whether from crowdfunding, angel investors, VCs, or other sources — helps startups move from an idea to a prototype to a sellable product and beyond. 

But for startup founders, especially first-time founders, finding investors can be a daunting process. How do you find investors for a startup business, and what are the best ways to connect with them? What should you prepare for your pitch deck to investors, and how do you know when an investor is the right fit for your business and goals?

This guide will help startup founders understand different investor types, where to find investors best suited to their specific business, and how to connect and build relationships with potential investors. 

TL;DR: How to find investors for your startup

• Start relationship building 12+ months before fundraising: Investor outreach and due diligence can take months, so begin connecting with potential investors well before you need funding.
• Target the right investor type for your startup stage: Angels and micro VCs work best for early-stage startups, while VCs typically invest in Series A+ companies with proven traction and scalability.
• Prioritize warm introductions: Warm intros are 4x more likely to secure investor meetings; leverage founder networks, industry events, and existing connections to get referred to potential investors.
• Build a qualified, targeted investor list: Research investors who fund your industry, stage, and deal size while avoiding competitors' backers; use tools like Crunchbase, AngelList, and LinkedIn for prospect research.
• Focus on relationship building: Don't immediately ask for money; instead, request to add investors to monthly update emails, share milestone achievements, and demonstrate early traction over time.
• Investors evaluate team credibility, market opportunity, and scalability: Prepare proof of concept, demonstrate customer traction, define addressable market size, and present realistic startup valuation with growth forecasts.

Understanding the types of investors

Investor is a broad term for a wide range of different individuals, groups, and corporations that can help fund your startup.

Different types of investors look for varying criteria, and some types are better suited for startups at certain stages than others. For example, venture capitalists tend to invest in established startups that are past the seed stage, while incubators are best for idea-stage startups that haven’t built a physical product just yet.

Before prepping for investor outreach, consider these types of investors for startups and which types are best for your startup stage.

Where can startup founders find investors?

Startup founders can find investors online or in person, and it helps to reach out to existing networks to connect with potential investors.

Here are several places — digital and IRL — to expand your network and connect with potential investors.

• Online platforms: Online platforms and social media, such as AngelList, Crunchbase, OpenVC, Wefunder, StartEngine, Angel Investment Network, and LinkedIn, allow you to both research and chat with potential investors.
• Events and pitch competitions: Pitch competitions are a great place to meet investors and practice your pitch. But if you’re not quite ready to pitch, attending industry events can also connect you with investors who are active in your industry.
• Incubators or accelerators: Incubators and accelerators are programs that help startups further develop their business idea or early prototype. These programs often feature vast investor networks and may even offer funding for participants.
• Founder communities: Join founder communities or networks, which offer online connections and in-person events. These networks can connect you to other founders, who can share investor information, or even to investors themselves. For instance, the HubSpot for Startups community offers resources like an online forum, digital events, and in-person conferences where you can meet potential investors and like-minded founders.
• Existing networks: Don’t forget your existing network, too. You could reach out to university alumni groups, colleagues, and even friends and family to get connected with investors.

What do investors look for in a startup?

Even with warm introductions and strong relationship building over several months, founders will still need to prove their startups’ worth to potential investors. As you prepare to pitch to investors, keep in mind the following factors that investors weigh when deciding who to invest in.

• Proof of concept: Investors will want to see a working prototype or a minimum viable product (MVP) to test that your product is viable.
• Traction: Investors understand that funding startups comes with risk, but they also have a responsibility to limit that risk. As such, investors want to see that your idea is already gaining traction with sign-ups or early sales from customers.
• Founding team credibility: Investors aren’t just looking at your product; they’ll be entering into a business relationship with your founding members, and they want to make sure the team has the skills and experience to bring the idea to life successfully.
• Market size and opportunity: Your idea doesn’t have to capture a massive market, but you should be able to define your market size and demonstrate that there is a need in the market for your product that competitors aren’t meeting.
• Vision and scalability: Investors are looking for passionate founders with a vision for the future, not just aimlessly selling products. Founders will need to be able to explain the “why” of their product and present data-driven forecasts to prove scalability.
• Valuation: Startup valuation is an estimate of what the startup is worth. Investors that fund early-stage startups won’t expect billion-dollar valuations, but investors at all stages will expect you to calculate and present your startup valuation.

The role of warm intros and founder networks

Now that you know where to find investors and what they’re looking for, you’re probably eager to start sending emails. 

But before you start contacting investors, it’s important to prioritize those with whom you have even a distant connection. If you can have a mutual friend or colleague introduce you to a potential investor, you have a higher chance of getting a response or booking a meeting. Warm intros are over four times more likely to land you a meeting compared to cold outreach.

James Gee, Global Sales Director at Startup Grind, told HubSpot for Startups that building networks to expand your connections is easier than you might think for founders. Most industry events are open to everyone, and founders can sign up for community newsletters or join founder networks (like Startup Grind) to make connections.

How to ask for a warm introduction

Once you’ve met with fellow founders or other professionals in your industry, though, how can you approach them for an introduction to an investor without coming across as spammy?

First, pour some energy into your connections before asking for a warm introduction. Make an effort to ask others how business is going or how you could be of help to them. Then, when it’s time to ask someone to connect you with an investor, be polite and personalize your request. Make the request convenient, too, by including all the related information about your request in the same email so that the recipient can forward it along to the potential investor.

After asking for a warm intro, continue to foster the relationship and offer to help the person in any way you’re available. 

“I think the idea of community is very much helping each other,” Gee said. “Don't burn bridges with anybody because you never know when that person's going to come back around into your life or your circles. If you say yes to a lot of things, I think that it comes back to you, and you might land on your feet somewhere else.”

Building a targeted investor list

Whether you’re breaking into venture capital through warm intros or cold outreach, you’ll want to build a targeted list of potential investors that are best suited to your startup. By creating a targeted list, you’re already weeding out investors who are more likely to reject your idea, giving you a better chance of success.

When researching industry investors, look for the following characteristics:

• Industry focus: Look for investors that are active within your industry.
• Check size: Flag investors that provide funding within the ballpark of what you’re looking to fundraise.
• Geography: Ensure targeted investors are active in your country. You may also have stronger chances with local investors in the same city as your startup.
• Stage: Many investors have preferences for when they invest. If you’re an early-stage startup, prioritize investors that frequently invest in other early-stage companies.
• Past investments: While you want to ensure investors are active in your industry, you’ll also need to avoid reaching out to investors who are funding your competitors.

So, how do you find this data on investors? There are many different tools to help you narrow down your investor list, including Clay, Crunchbase, CB Insights, and Dealroom. You can even find investor data on LinkedIn, via AI like Google NotebookLM, or in industry media like TechCrunch.

As you compile data and create a list of investors to contact, keep track of your outreach efforts with tools like HubSpot’s CRM.

Don’t make these mistakes when searching for investors

Investor outreach can be a lengthy process, and numerous mistakes can occur when researching, connecting with, and pitching investors. Watch out for these common mistakes when it comes to finding investors for your startup.

• Treating all investors the same: Seeking funding from angel investors is different from pitching to VCs. Crowdfunding is different than participating in an incubator. You’ll need different approaches to finding and pitching investors based on what stage you’re in and what type of investments you’re pursuing.
• Prioritizing big names over good fit: Looking for the right investor for your startup is like looking for a job. It can be tempting to pursue major, impressive names, but that doesn’t always mean they’ll be the right fit. Instead, focus on investors that fund startups in your industry at similar stages and with similar goals as your business.
• Focusing only on money: While you are nurturing investor relationships, don’t jump into asking for money; start outreach long before you need funding and take plenty of time to build those relationships.
• Pitching too soon: You may be excited to get the funding process rolling, but pitching too early could hinder your progress. Take time to build the relationship, gain enough traction, and thoroughly prepare a compelling pitch.
• Over-engineering outreach too early: Eager founders may jump at building huge spreadsheets of investor data and creating deeply personalized emails for dozens of potential investors at once. Prioritize high-quality leads, such as investors that you can get warm intros to, and set a limit to how much outreach you’ll do per day or per week. Don’t dedicate all of your time, energy, and resources to investor research and outreach when you also need to focus on building your product.
• Ignoring local or smaller-scale investor networks: People within a community are often eager to help out one another, so don’t forget to look local or at smaller networks. These networks often have less competition, making it easier to connect and build relationships with investors.

Your investor outreach strategy: Where to begin as a startup founder

We’ve explored how to find investors, how to ask for warm introductions from mutual connections, and how to nurture your new relationships. There’s a lot to keep in mind when it comes to getting investors for a startup business, so follow this quick step-by-step guide and timeline to help guide your approach.

The step-by-step guide to investor outreach

Here’s a breakdown of the process of finding, shortlisting, connecting with, and pitching to investors.

• Research: Using databases, social media, or your network, start researching investors in your industry.
• Build a long list: For any investor that 1) invests in your industry and 2) invests in startups at your stage, add them to a long list of potential contacts.
• Qualify to short list: Narrow down the long list into a shorter list of investors that best match your startup. Investors should have invested in similar companies, but not your competitors, and should have previous deal sizes in the range of what you’re looking for.
• Prioritize warm outreach: While cold outreach can still be effective, start by connecting with potential investors to whom you can get warm intros.
• Send emails: Now, it’s time to send introductory emails, both for cold and warm intros. Keep these emails concise and to the point, while still focusing on telling your story. Include a one-liner to describe the problem you’re solving and for whom. For cold outreach, explain how you found the investor and why they may be a good fit. Don’t ask for an investment or meeting right away; instead, ask if you can add the investor to your monthly email list for sending updates.
• Nurture the relationships: Whether you’re meeting up to discuss your team’s progress or just sending quick email updates, don’t neglect your new connections. Check in with potential investors about once a month to build those relationships.
• Offer value: Investor relationships aren’t just one-sided. As you check in with updates, focus on the metrics your company is hitting and the next milestones you are planning to achieve. Demonstrate the early traction and value your company has and how it could grow, which would ultimately be beneficial to investors.
• Present your pitch deck: Once your startup is ready to pitch, it’s time to set up a meeting to pitch. “Ready” will look different depending on your specific startup, stage, and the type of investor, so make sure you have the right qualifications (such as an MVP or a specific valuation) before pitching.
• Follow up: Whether an investor says “yes” or “no”, follow up with quarterly emails about your progress to continue nurturing the relationship. The investor could say “yes” the next time you’re ready to raise, or they could connect you with other potential investors looking for startups like yours to support.
• Iterate: After every meeting or pitch, don’t forget to fine-tune your pitch deck. As your startup progresses, update your pitch materials to present the most up-to-date information to potential investors.

When to begin investor relationship building

Don’t wait until you’re nearing the end of your runway to start building investor relationships. Investor outreach and relationship building can take several months, so it’s best to start at least one year before you need to fundraise. Keep in mind that investor due diligence can take at least a few weeks to several months, too, so the earlier you can start researching and reaching out to connections, the better.

As you work on building those relationships, keep your company milestones top of mind as well. For example, once you’ve built a prototype or MVP, share the exciting news with the potential investors on your shortlist. 

If you hit revenue milestones or a certain number of sign-ups to demonstrate early traction, include those updates in your next email to investors. You can also use milestones to gauge when it’s time to start scheduling pitch meetings. Milestones vary by startup, but you may feel ready to pitch after confirming product-market fit or building your MVP.

Conclusion: Smart fundraising starts with smart investor discovery

Getting investors for a startup business, especially an early-stage startup, can be a challenging process. However, knowing where to find investors and how to build relationships with them gives you a better chance of finding the right investors for your goals.

Because researching investor data, building and narrowing a targeted list, starting outreach, and nurturing investor relationships can take several months, start the process now to secure investments when you need them.

Head over to the HubSpot for Startups community to start making connections and finding support today. Then, explore this HubSpot for Startups workshop on How to Create the Killer Pitch Deck to start building an impressive pitch to wow investors.

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