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📰 Today's topic: Building Relationships with Founders Before They Fundraise

The best deals don't come from cold pitch decks.

They come from founders who think of you first when they decide to raise. But most investors are either invisible until there's a deal, or they're uncomfortably aggressive about "staying close" to companies.

When a founder starts fundraising, they're drowning in intros and calls.

Everyone wants in.

But if you've been helpful for months before they opened the round, you won’t be competing for attention because founders already trust you.

That early relationship gets you earlier access to deals, better terms, and real transparency about risks (not just the polished pitch).

Plus, founders talk. Help one founder pre-raise, and three more will hear about it.

Let's break it down.

Step 1: Find founders

You can't build relationships with everyone. Focus on founders who are:

• Building in spaces you care about. If you don't find their problem interesting, this won't work.

• Making tangible progress. Early revenue, product launches, or strong user growth signals momentum.

• Not actively fundraising. If they're mid-raise, you're too late for this strategy.

You can find them on Twitter/X, niche communities, accelerators, or ask founders you've already backed for intros to founders they know.

Step 2: Be genuine + curious

Don't just reach out saying, "I'm an angel investor, let's chat."

That immediately frames the relationship as transactional.

Instead, ask about what they're building:

"Saw your post about [specific thing]. That's a clever approach to [problem]. How'd you figure that out?"

Or…

"I've been thinking about [space] a lot lately. Would love to hear how you're approaching [specific challenge]."

Notice that there’s no mention of investing. No "I'd love to learn more about your company" (which screams: I want to see your deck).

Just genuine interest in the work.

Step 3: Be proactive

Once you're in conversation, find small ways to be helpful.

For example, make an intro that's relevant. One good customer connection beats ten "thought leader" intros.

Or share specific insights from your experience. If you've seen this problem before, tell them what worked (or didn't).

Or amplify, amplify, amplify. Retweet, comment, send their product to friends who'd benefit.

The key is don't ask "how can I help?" It puts the burden on them to manage you.

Instead, just do small helpful things and the founders will remember the details.

Step 4: Stay consistent… but not annoying

You don't need to talk daily. That's overkill.

But you should stay visible:

• Check in every 4-6 weeks with something relevant (an article, an intro idea, congrats on a milestone)

• Engage with their updates on social media

• Invite them to small dinners or events (not "networking events" but actual interesting gatherings)

The goal is to be present enough that when they think "we should raise money," you come to mind.

Step 5: Let them set the fundraising timeline

Most investors get impatient and mess up:

"So, when are you thinking about raising?"

"Have you thought about your round size?"

"Let me know when you open the round!"

This destroys the relationship and now it feels transactional again.

You have to trust the process. If you've been genuinely helpful, they'll tell you when they're ready to raise.

And when they do, you'll get the real story, not the polished pitch.

The mindset shift

Most angels treat pre-fundraise founders like "prospects."

The best angels treat them like humans building something interesting.

Be curious. Be helpful. Be patient.

Do all three and the deals will follow.

– Brian from Angel Squad

🪽 Angel Investors Come from Everywhere

Spoiler alert: You don't need to be in Silicon Valley or have a trust fund to be a great angel investor.

Aaisha Bhuiyan | New York, New York

Amazon Alum + Columbia Negotiation Expert + Community Builder

Aaisha is a Bangladeshi-American operator with a tech background at Amazon and MS in Negotiation & Conflict Resolution from Columbia.

Why this matters: Startups fail more often because of co-founder dynamics and poor communication than technical problems. Aaisha can evaluate founding teams and spot potential conflicts before they blow up. Plus, her community-building skills help portfolio companies actually grow their user base – not just build cool tech that nobody uses.

We want to educate more great investors like Aaisha...which is why we're about to host VC legend Ann Miura-Ko. RSVP here - it'll be the best 10 minutes you spend this Friday.

Overheard in SF…probably

We're not fundraising, we're gamifying capital allocation. Our pitch deck is actually an NFT that unlocks when you wire the money. We're pre-revenue but post-pivot, which means we're exactly where we need to be.