

Ask HN: I want an investment for my startup, where do I start? - leejw00t354

What's the best way to get in contact with an investor?
I'm considering getting funding for my startup but have no idea who I need to get in touch with or what to look for.
======
pedalpete
Can you give an idea of where you are with your start-up? Just because you
'want an investment' doesn't mean your ready. Many people suggest you should
get introductions long before you actually need the money.

But to answer your question about how to contact investors, the best way is
through personal contacts. Depending on where you live, this could be more or
less difficult. You'll also need to 'sell' your start-up to the contacts
first. I doubt a contact would do an introduction for you without knowing what
they were introducing. Use this to your advantage. Pitch any contacts you have
who might be able to introduce you to investors. This will also give you
practice with your pitch and help you refine it.

You can also try AngelList, but my understanding (I've never tried it) is that
you'll need to have social proof to really get anywhere on the platform.

Are there technology/entrepreneur meet-ups in your area? If so, go to them.
You may not meet investors there (though you might), but you will meet other
start-ups and somewhere somebody is getting an investment and they have
contacts in the angel/VC community.

Lastly, keep in mind that it isn't about what 'you' want. You have to sell the
investor on your business and you. It's what THEY want. Telling them that you
want investment so you can grow your business, etc. etc. I'm told won't get
you very far.

It is better to tell them what you're building, where it is going, why it is
going to change the world and make a ton of money. Ask for advice, not
investment. Ask for investment and you'll get advice, ask for advice and
you'll get investment.

~~~
leejw00t354
We're near the end of development now. Maybe a couple more weeks before we're
happy with the product.

I'm looking for some marketing help mainly. Although we are basically ready
for launch I'm worried that without investment we won't have that initial
boost which will kick start our user base, which is quite important as it's a
social product.

I've attending one startup meetup in my area. I'll be attending some more next
year. I'll have to see if I can get any contacts from them.

Thank you.

~~~
steventruong
That's actually the wrong way to look at it. You should have iterated the idea
with potential users (not just people who like the idea but are committed to
using your product) before building it (at least ideally). I assume you didn't
do this step from the way you made it sound.

Next, once you've gotten your MVP built, the next major step should be to get
those users together to try your MVP during a private beta. This will help you
fix bugs, adjust the MVP, and add features that the early adopters suggests.
This should be the step you guys should be working on now. You shouldn't be
out there trying to do a massive launch, but rather find a small group of
people willing to try your product out.

Once you're done with that, then you potentially will try to get the word out
to the masses and garner traction. Without social proof, without any form of
traction (user or revenue), and being first time entrepreneurs, you'll have a
much harder time raising capital if you don't get at least have the above done
(albeit anything is possible). You absolutely do not need funding to get that
much done.

There is a saying that it is better to get a few users who absolutely love
your product early on than a bunch of users who somewhat like your product.
Focus on this.

