https://techsylvania.com

1. How to Fundraise With
Zero Connections
Fang Yuan
VP, Baidu Ventures
June 2019

2. Intro & agenda
• Alternative funding sources outside of traditional VC
• How to find the right investor for your startup
• How to approach investors – tips and 4 mental frameworks

4. Source: StartupsUSA

5. Is your idea VC-backable?
• Is your company tech-driven? Do you have a set of core innovations
(technology or otherwise) that will be hard for others to replicate?
• Does your business model allow you to achieve the type of growth
and return that VC investors will want? (i.e., 10x returns)
• Are you determined to achieve an exit for your business that is either
an IPO or an acquisition within the next 5-7 years?
• And lastly…

7. If yes, what are the options?
• Friends & family
• Local angel investors / preseed & seed funds
• Government and local grants / foundations
• Alternative paths:
• Crowd funding: Kickstarter, Indiegogo, GoFundMe
• Crowd investing – accredited: Angelist, EquityNet, Crowdfunder, Fundable
• Crowd investing - non-accredited: Republic, SeedInvest, MicroVentures, truCrowd
• Sector focused: CircleUp (consumer brands)
• Accelerator programs: Entrepreneur First, YC, 500 Startups, TechStars, etc.
• Other outside your geography VCs

8. Zero connections, where to start?
• Counter-intuitively – your connections!
• Call up your most connected friends, the ones people call “super
connectors” – there’s always at least a few in your social network
• Be shameless (but not annoying) – talk to everyone about your idea
• Power of weak connections – people love to help each other
• Create opportunities for yourself

9. Where next?
• Relevant local meetups, associations, search on Eventbrite and
Facebook, etc.
• Local and global conferences
• University events
• Governments and non-profit resources
• Tip: Volunteer to get free tickets & meet the conference organizers

10. Other channels of engagement
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Email
• Other professional networks & social media

11. Traditional VC
• BEST = warm intro through a good friend, business contact, founder
• DO NOT blanket bomb
• This is the biggest waste of time that I see
• DO your research:
• Categorize investors (not firms) by interest areas, stage, geographic exposure, etc.
• Have they invested into similar category but non-competitive startups?
• https://signal.nfx.com/login (free tool to find the right investors)
• FIND people who are incentivized to help you:
• Local angels & VCs
• Other VCs who have an office or interest in the geographic region you’re in
• Scouts: incentivized to look for VC deals
• ALWAYS get feedback if you can, so you can better iterate

12. Position yourself digitally
• Google yourself
• Re-read your historical Twitter tweets, Linkedin comments, etc.
• Keep your LinkedIn profile updated:
• Photo
• Brief summary of what you’re looking for
• No spelling mistakes, no gaps in years
• Get relevant recommendations if you can
• Connect with everyone you know
• Create memorable content
• Personal blog
• What is your story? Represent your narrative to show you in best light

13. Many types of bad pitches
Too incredibleToo vague

14. How to craft an initial cold outreach message
Hi [investor name],
I enjoyed your blog post on [XYZ]. My startup is [description of what it’s
doing in this space] and raising a [stage] round of [$XX]. We have on-going
pilots with [#] large enterprises that will convert to paying customers by end
of year. Happy to send you a short deck if you’re interested. (My email is
[XYZ].)
Thank you for your time.
Regards,
[your name]

15. Four frameworks for engaging with people
• Givers, takers, matchers
• Being present / Buddhist philosophy (Ajahn Brahm)
• When is the most important time?
• Who is the most important person?
• What is the most important thing to do?
• Seeing people as an end in themselves
• Scarcity vs. abundance mentality

16. Givers, takers, and matchers
• Always think about what’s best for both sides
• Offer to be helpful, even if you can’t be – people will appreciate it
• Get to know people as people first
• Give & Take by Adam Grant (psychologist & professor at the Wharton
School of the University of Pennsylvania)
• Conclusion: Strategic giving, random occurrences of forgiveness

17. Being present / Buddhist philosophy
• When is the most important time? Now
• Who is the most important person? The person you’re with
• What is the most important thing to do? To care
• Have real higher quality conversations with a smaller number of
people vs. trying to “network” with everyone
• Whoever you’re with should be the most important person in the
world to you when you are with them
• People will remember how you make them feel, not what you say

18. Seeing people as an end in themselves
• Do not use people as a means to an end
• Align interests – make the situation win-win
• Give people a compelling reason to help you – people want to help
• Compelling reasons:
• You’re articulate, enthusiastic but also realistic
• You thoroughly understand your business: pros and cons, upsides and risks
• You can defend your position without being defensive
• You understand why it appeals to investors

19. Scarcity vs. abundance mentality
• Scarcity: belief that “there will never be enough” / seeing the world
as a zero sum game, leading to fear, stress, unhappiness, paranoia
• Abundance: belief that “there is more than enough” for everyone,
coming from a place of true self-esteem and security
• If you create real value in the world, the size of the pie will increase
for everyone so focus on that