LinkedIn Investor Cold-Intro — An Intelligent Approach.

You need an investor, and you choose the professional social pool that is LinkedIn.

Let‘s start by saying that this social network, LinkedIn, is full of spam. If it‘s a business social media platform, then for each authentic investor it has, there are thirty accounts wanting to sell you a product.

But let‘s say you eventually find that investor, your startup savior; you‘ll probably end up saying the wrong thing. I‘ve recently raised funds for a startup with an MVP through LinkedIn. Let me tell you about the exact process.

An example of a possible LinkedIn outreach message (Information is a placeholder) — Interestingly, My startup is on track to close $100k but not in recurring revenue.

TLDR — It‘s a 7 minute read; The last section is a micro guide.

🔎 Who’s worth it and who’s not it — Anyone could change their title to an “investor“; So how do you select the right one?

🗣️ The true problem of LinkedIn — It’s a chaotic marketplace of 10 million lead generation agencies.

🫂 Manage your expectations — You know what’s better than a LI message? A face-to-face introduction.

📄 (Paid Subscribers) Use case — The exact 4-step approach I take in my LI-investor outreach.

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Who’s worth it, and who’s not it?

Count to three; during those three seconds, I could become an astronaut on LinkedIn. It’s quite easy. I would just change my title and job. I could work in SpaceX and NASA simultaneously. Welcome to the world of LinkedIn.

That’s the first thing you should think of when you’re deciding to do an investor outreach on LinkedIn. Do you see a perfect prominent investor that is very suitable for your startup? Put a percentage of 90% that it won’t work out.

For starters, everything you read there is not necessarily true. 

• That investor does not have a $1 billion portfolio. 

• They did not talk to Warren Buffett as stated.

• They‘ll will just waste your time.

You can never know. That’s the reality of the situation. So, learn the art of non-attachment and get ready for your next pitch.

Research the heck out of that person. That’s one way to decrease the odds of a time waste. Learn every single thing about them and then head to Google.

• A person who has a $1 billion portfolio and spoke to Buffett probably has an article written on them in a reputable publication.

• Check out the investment firm they work in. Research it further. Anything you do at this stage enhances your odds.

But after all of that, know that this person might not be as claimed or simply a fake account.

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The true problem of LinkedIn.

Even if you did all of the above, LinkedIn has another problem. There are many people like you. But instead of raising investments, they’re selling products. That marketplace is the perfect pool. Yet they’re playing the quantity game. They would connect and approach 5,000 people only to land a single sale. 

You might be that sale. So get ready for manipulation. I was once approaching an investor for a large investment. They then said that I should talk to this other person.

I went and scheduled a 60-minute call. This 60-minute call turned out to be a product pitch from him to me. Instead of me getting to raise an investment, he wanted me to pay for his product. 

Everyone will try to sound sneaky. 

“Hey AL, I love your work on Albusi (because it’s the company that I have on LinkedIn); I’d love to connect and learn more about your products.“

They’re not lying. But by learning more about your products, they mean learning more about how their lead generation software could be sold properly to you. You’re a fish in a pond, and they’re fishing.

It’s all like that. The more I explore LinkedIn, the more I notice that people who make their accounts private (or just ask you for their email when you connect with them) are quite wise.

Now, here’s the real problem — you’re also fishing.

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Manage your LinkedIn Expectations

You want to say that you’re different. But it’s not true. 

• They want to charge a thousand dollars per month. 

• You want to sell that investor a share of your company. 

Both these options could be legit. But the investor will feel like a fish in a pond. Acknowledge that. Now you need to be better than that other salesperson.

Due to those reasons, LinkedIn is not the best way to raise investments. A better way would be to introduce yourself face-to-face to an investor you researched. The human way is the way to go.

But if you really thought this through and don’t have another option, then do it carefully and smartly. Try to approach with different messages and assess how they’re received. Understand that LinkedIn might not work out eventually. 

Knowing this piece of information, you have good odds to give it a shot there. Many entrepreneurs I know have raised through LinkedIn. I did so myself for a client recently.

But the best approach to fishing in a pond is to tell the fish what’s on the other side. Here’s what I do when I help clients with their LinkedIn investor outreach.

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My 4-Step Process Of LinkedIn Investor Outreach