Setting VC Meetings: Making Personal Connections

After creating a snappy elevator pitch and convincing executive summary, the easiest way to create a personal connection with investors is by becoming a part of the local entrepreneurship community. Several Bay Area organizations including Technology Ventures Corporation, SVASE, SDForum, eBig, BASN, VC TaskForce, the Churchill Club and TiE hold events on a regular basis (usually 3-4 in any given week) that feature VCs and angels as speakers. Investors attend these events specifically to stay active and meet entrepreneurs. So polish your elevator pitch and introduce yourself before or after the event. If the investor shows interest, be sure to follow up the next day with an executive summary. Furthermore, some of the events held by these organizations are designed specifically to give entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch directly to VCs. Entrepreneurs can easily meet 10-15 different VCs or angels per month by becoming apart of the local startup community… oh and you just might learn something about improving your business at these events too. ;)

A second way to create a personal connection to an investor is to read and comment on their blog. Brad Feld, Will Price, Tim Oren, David Hornik, David Cowan, Guy Kawasaki and Peter Rip all have excellent blogs. There are dozens more VCs blogging and many of them respond quickly to comments. Blogs are a great way to get to know investors and knowing investors is what gets an entrepreneur's executive summary read.