My favorite technique is approaching the CEOs they have invested in before, which are often available in public records or on their respective websites. First you need to target very narrowly the right investors for your type of deal by industry, stage and sometimes geography. Then with this focused list you can find their portfolios, and the CEOs of those companies.
Read more: How to Introduce to Venture Capitalists for a Warm Call Instead of a Cold Call?
Here is a graph showing the deals reported to Pitch deck, which could easily be skewed very high by all the smaller deals that go unreported
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Networking is the key strategy. You need to get out there and meet other CEOs, investors and key referral sources at physical events. LinkedIn can be a way to find them, but cold approaches are difficult. I get invitations to invest every week from people I do not know, and I am certain most are not high-quality deals within seconds from their email, deck or type of approach. Bad English, missing key data, no team background and a hundred other red flags mean an instant rejection. Too many to even send five minutes looking at them when the CEO cannot hit the key points to sell the deal in a few sentences.
There are many commonly accepted principles about success that come up again and again like pursuing your passion (so work is fun, not a burden), focus on a clear mission (medium term) and vision (long-term) so you will focus and be immersed in the problem, the solution and the value you create for your customers. Long-term commitment and persistence are never optional, either. But there is one principle that few people talk about that can be the foundation of all of these, which I will reveal in this article.
My dad gave me the gift of the standard of hard work, learning and discipline throughout his life.