Where To Find Dealflow As A Beginner In The Investment Space
You are already investing or you’ve got money set aside to. Everything is lined up but for quality dealflow. How to find the hottest of founders and most interesting propositions? Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Follow other investors. Angel investors typically like sharing deals amongst each other. More capital available means rounds get closed faster and founders get the financial support needed to skyrocket their ventures in a timely manner. So: speak with investors in your network on a regular basis. As and when you find interesting deals yourself, share them freely.
Be active on social media such as Twitter, LinkedIn or Clubhouse and make it clear you are open to receiving pitch decks. Also, set up a personal brand website outlining your background, expertise, and investment thesis. Chances are you will be inundated with enquiries from startups within days - the challenge then becomes to find the right opportunities you want to follow up on.
Attend pitching events, both online and - pandemic allowing - in person. If you try a few different ones you will quickly work out which ones tend to have quality pitches or the types of pitches you are interested in.
Get to know the startup scene. Go to networking events, do online research using portals such as Crunchbase focusing on the sector(s) you are interested in. Reach out to startups you know and admire and simply ask if they are fundraising now or in the near future.
Volunteer as a mentor at events such as Startup Weekend and at hackathons. Even though ventures you are likely to meet in this way are extremely early stage, you can stay in touch with those that grow and start being recognised for your expertise.
Get involved with your local startup scene as a public speaker and panelist when it comes to investing. With a bit of networking chances are that you will start getting invited to pitching events as a judge and can get your name known as a startup investor.
These are just a few suggestions in terms of what you can do to start seeing quality dealflow as an investor. Truthfully, you will need to invest a bit of time into getting your name out there and penetrating different startup networks to find what’s of interest to you.
Once you tap into reliable sources of good deals you may find though - as I have - there’s too many deals you’d like to invest in and you need to tread carefully not to overstretch yourself financially! One thing is certain - there’s an abundance of interesting startups out there that are worthy of receiving investment.
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