

Ask HN: How do I hear capitalists who are a-venturing? - jalanb

By comparison with the &quot;normal HN reader&quot; I live in &quot;the arse end of nowhere&quot;. Well, in a very rural part of Kerry, in a very modern Ireland. Coming in over the Atlantic is a lot of rain, and a goodly amount of Silicon Valley capital.<p>I&#x27;m on a couple of weeks holidays, and spent the first one hacking a garden from the abundant (practically cancerous!) greenery. I took the Bank Holiday to step back and admire the rainbows, and now have the second week to hack a better startup in the local Technology Park.<p>Bumped into an old mate on the weekend, with whom I helped build (one of) the world-leading companies in that Park. Being the serial entrepreneur that he is, he&#x27;s out starting again and I&#x27;d be surprised if you don&#x27;t hear the new company&#x27;s name next year or so. And hear that I&#x27;d built yet another solid successful software team for it.<p>He has my number, but I have an idea.<p>I&#x27;ve been polishing that idea since graduation, and you will all repeat that it cannot be done, but I know that in a few decades it will have been done. From here and now Google are most likely to have done it, although it also depends on who takes it seriously enough first. So it is still up for grabs.<p>So, the question: should I spend a few months &#x2F; years with my old mate learning how he listens to investors, or is there a better way to learn how to get enough capital behind a different team and try to take over the world?<p>Even if you are all right that my idea is impossible, there&#x27;ll be more ideas along next month, and we&#x27;ll still need more entrepreneurs in Kerry then.
======
FiatLuxDave
I love impossible ideas. I'm just finishing up executing one now. You may feel
you've already received enough feedback, but running the idea by HN can't
hurt. Care to share? You'll get better advice if you do.

There are a number of VCs in Dublin, which is a short drive (by American
standards) from anywhere in Ireland. VCs like you to be local, but for a good
idea they will be flexible on that, and 3.5 hours away is reasonably local.
So, it might be worthwhile running your idea by the VCs in Dublin. Contrary to
popular wisdom, it is actually possible to cold approach VCs, you just need
the ability to hear 'No' a hundred times without giving up. Not everyone is
cut out for this, but a deep belief in your idea can make even the most
milquetoast of us into a good salesperson.

It's been a while since I did the cold approach method. The best thing to do
is do your research and find which partners at the VC firms you approach are
interested in the area you are working in. Then directly address your contacts
to that person, instead of to the firm as a whole. That way, you will most
likely at least get a read or a listen before you get the 'No'.

The farther along in development you are, the better your chances of getting
funded will be. So, developing it on your own is good. They will ask how much
you've done on your own. Your most important job before approaching a VC is to
do work to reduce the risk to an acceptable level (both technical and market
risk). Of course, you can spend 20 years doing this on your own, but then you
don't need a VC.

------
tmaly
If you can, build a prototype or at least a mock up of the idea

