How A Single Message Got My Pre-Traction Client A $500k Seed Investment.

It took 45 days, but that single warm intro email did the job.

Let me tell you a story, the story of why I decided to start this section, Warm Intro, in my newsletter.

It was one of those days when a potential client needed help with their investment material. They were in the blockchain game-fi industry and almost had an MVP.

1. They had no traction.

2. They didn’t have a legendary mentor.

3. They had no external investments and were burning quite an amount each month.

Then I had a meeting with them. They were, hands down, the friendliest and most fun team that I had a call with. There was laughter, lots of it. But there were also serious moments.

I went on to help them with their investment material; then, they asked whether I could help with the investment fundraising campaign. I knew it wouldn’t be easy because of the three points that I mentioned. They needed an exceptional amount of effort and outreach.

But I liked them, so I went on to do this and charged them a retainer accordingly. Fast forward around 45 days, and I received a reply to my LinkedIn message.

Me: Hey! I have an interesting client in Europe who built an engine for bla. They‘re closing their see round and here‘s their deck: link, Interested?

VC: Hey Al, it looks interesting! I‘d love to connect with them. Here‘s my email and our website.

I introduced them via a warm introduction email, and a few weeks later, they received a well-deserved $500k pre-seed investment. They’re now creating an amazing product that I’m extremely proud of. But here’s the thing.

This took an astonishing amount of effort from my end. If I do this on a full-time basis, I can only help two or three clients a year. This is contradictory to my overall objective of adding value to entrepreneurs out there. I want to benefit as many as I possibly can.

Due to this campaign and many others, I’ve created a network of VCs that I talk to every now and then. Just a few days ago, a person working in a VC sent me a message to recommend a startup with specific parameters (e.g., $100k+ MRR, etc.)

This reminded me of a conversation that I had with a person working at Stableton, a prominent investment firm. He told me that it is quite a challenge to find a startup that is the perfect fit for an investment. They’re either too good to accept an investment or not the best startup out there.

Between those two ranges, there’s a thin line of clients that I’ve been working with for years. A startup that has quite good traction and needs an investment.

This sort of startup is why I’m building Warm Intro. Rather than spending thousands on outreach, a simple email from me could mean saving a startup.

Here’s an example of what could be sent in Warm Intro (1X per week)

Hey AL,

Our VC Redacted ideally looks for tech startups that are software-focused or IoT if there are hardware components across all industries. $250k+ ARR, previously raised investment and looking to raise Seed to Series B ($1m-$40m)

There is some flexibility with startups that are R&D heavy and pre-revenue within industries such as Med/HealthTech, DeepTech, Web3, Quantum Computing etc.

Some of our success stories:

- Redacted, $4M round, introduced to 56 investors, Developer Tools

- Redacted, $5M round, introduced to 58 investors, HR Tech

- Redacted, $4M round, introduced to 33 investors, E-Commerce B2B

- Redacted, $3M round, introduced to 33 investors, Future of Work

Do you know of any founders looking to raise investment?

After that, if you’re a fit, you’d reply to the email and let me know. I (and my team) would review whether you’re really the perfect fit to save you and the VC’s time. If we do see an opportunity, then we’ll just do the warm intro.

Then who knows where you’ll be next?

PS. Some weeks I won’t have VCs asking for startups; I’m not an angel. In those weeks, I (and my team) will research opportunities. For example, if Y Combinator has a batch starting soon, then we’ll tell you how to apply with some guides from previous clients of mine or researched material.