🤝 This edition is sponsored by Alumni Ventures

The best startup deals don't exactly show up in your inbox. They go to the big VC firms first. a16z, Founders Fund, Y Combinator. You know the names.

AV Syndicates lets accredited investors get into those same deals, one at a time. No institutional minimums, no waiting for the next fund close. Just pick the deals that catch your eye and co-invest alongside firms already doing the diligence for you.

If you've wanted a seat at the table, take a look.

Disclosure: Not an offer to sell, or solicitation of an offer to buy, any security. Venture capital investing involves substantial risk, including risk of loss of all capital invested. Co-investors are provided for illustrative purposes only, do not represent all organizations with which AV co-invests, and are not guarantees of investment outcomes. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

📰 Today's topic: How to get from wannabe to trusted expert, or why proof beats potential

How to get from wannabe to trusted expert, or why proof beats potential

We were talking recently about how to do a better job connecting Angel Squad members with the founders in our portfolio.

We know a lot of people who want to help startups. We know what our portfolio companies need. So why is matching the two so hard?

Then I realized we’re really dealing with two different groups. There’s the people who want to help startups. And then there’s the people we’d actually feel comfortable vouching for. The tricky part is figuring out who is both.

Why quality stays invisible

In our line of work, we meet a lot of people. But most of these meetings don’t tell you very much about how someone actually performs.

Someone can be great at networking and terrible at execution. They can be thoughtful in a conversation and struggle to ship. They can tell you they’re excellent at growth, product, recruiting, or whatever else, but that doesn’t necessarily give you a reason to put your name behind them.

And that last part matters, because when you recommend someone to a founder, you’re putting your own reputation on the line.

Make it easy for people to spot quality

So how do you go beyond that? To answer this, I’m going to hold up one story in particular about someone in our community. She’s organized, sharp, a great communicator, and genuinely interested in product. 

But what really caught my attention was that she didn’t just say she wanted more experience. She went and built something herself, then she wrote about what she learned. Somebody on our team read it, reached out, and now there's an actual conversation about working together.

That’s the part people sometimes miss: proof beats potential.

If you want people to recommend you, don’t just tell them what you could do. Give them something to point to. Build the thing. Write the analysis. Ship the small version. Help someone solve a real problem.

This goes for angels, too

The same is true if you’re an angel. Founders vouch for investors to other founders. That's how a lot of deal access actually moves, especially when you're writing $5k checks and don't have a brand yet.

Wanting good deal flow isn’t enough. The question is whether a founder has a reason to tell their friends, “you should talk to this person.”

The good news is that you don’t need to manufacture some huge accomplishment. An intro that turned into a customer. A hire you sourced. A market breakdown you wrote that they forwarded to their team. One piece of evidence beats five years of being pleasant on calls.

What to do this month

Pick one thing you actually know something about and make something about it to share, like a teardown of a company in your sector. Or a short guide on the operational thing you've done a hundred times. Even a list of the twelve people you'd call for a specific type of hire.

Send it to two founders. Don't attach an ask. That's the entire move. 

It's slow, it compounds, and it's the only thing I've seen consistently nudge people from wannabe to trusted pro.

What's the piece of evidence in your background that nobody knows about? Reply and tell me, I'm genuinely curious what's hiding in this list.

– Brian from Angel Squad

🍫 A snack for the road: Come hang out with us in SF!

Join us for an exclusive investor demo day featuring the top startups from Orange Planet's Global Market Expansion Program (GMEP) — a Korean accelerator backed by Smilegate, one of Korea's leading tech companies.

​These founders have spent the summer in San Francisco immersing themselves in the US startup ecosystem, and now they're ready to pitch. You'll hear high-potential Korean startups deliver sharp 2-3 minute pitches, followed by Q&A and open networking.

​This event is designed for investors — come ready to engage, give feedback, and connect with the next wave of founders making their move into the US market.

Overheard in SF…probably

“The waitlist is at 14,000. About 11,000 of those are bots and honestly I love every one of them.”