Ask HN: Have you gotten anywhere cold messaging investors?

I am also an unknown with a startup and a pitch, so take it with a grain of salt.

I don't think you're gonna get useful answers here. I would imagine it really depends on who you're pitching to, and how you're pitching. Lets say in aggregate 1% of people get an investment from cold calling. That doesn't imply you have 1% chance. Your pitch could suck so your chances are 0%, or you could be Elon Musk and you have a 100% chance. But the fact of the matter is that you don't know what your chances are. So the only way to find out is to try and see how it goes.

(I don't remember where this idea came from, but it was either from a PG essay or something put out by YC.)

Another thing is that one founder's route to success looks very different based on the strengths and weaknesses of that founder. You can't follow the lead of another founder. You have to play to your own strengths. If you think its a good idea, do it.

Point is, just do it. Start calling people. You'll learn way more than asking other people about it.

Have you done anything noteworthy? If not, like if you're fresh out of school in your early twenties, then your best option for immediate capital is a program like YC. Or if bootstrapping is an option, do that until you have metrics people can't say no to. Your resume doesn't matter at $1m ARR or 10 million MAU or whatever, only how fast you got there. Otherwise, maybe don't reach out to partners directly. Go downmarket to principals or investors or associates. Win them over and they'll be your champions to the partners.

If you've been out in the world for a while and accomplished things, then you can absolutely reach out cold. Warm is better, but cold will work. If you've accomplished big things you'll have no problem getting to partners directly, otherwise you still might need to aim a little lower, depending on the firm and partner. (Accomplishing things could be building a business or doing significant research; accomplishing big things could be building multiple nine-figure businesses or being one of the co-authors on "Attention Is All You Need". You can do these things while still being relatively "nobody".)

This is general advice, of course, so take it modulo the space you're in. When the world's going nuts for $TREND and you're dealing $TREND, anything can happen.

Yes, the response rate is nearly 100%. It might be the culture here though. Investment rate was 0%, so ultimately it didn't convert. But if you go to the trouble of writing an email, many people answer.

I should also add my format: Keep to a maximum of 2 sentences and try to customize it where possible. e.g. "I read your blog on..."

In 2017, I secured investment from Mark Cuban for my startup through a cold email. He contributed to our initial seed round, followed on in subsequent funding rounds, and we successfully exited in 2023.

My email was concise, under five sentences, and straight to the point, highlighting the market problem, its size, and our traction. Feel free to ask any questions!

> if you're fresh out of school in your early twenties,

I would argue that starting a startup at that age is a bad idea for most. it was a different time 20 years ago. plus most of those success stories are people who were already well connected.

Tech has mostly matured and there are processes in place for good releases. you're better off working for other startups and learning what a good work culture looks like. worst case, you learn what to look out for from bad work culture. more importantly, you make mistakes on someone else's dime or better yet, you have a mentor who helps you avoid the bad decisions in the first place.

Plus its not like being older makes you age out of starting a startup. I recently turned 40 and the startup I cofounded 4 years ago is profitable. I wouldn't have succeeded with what I knew 20 years ago.

How did you get his real email?

For sure through an introduction and connections that helped his email by not being "cold".

Actually, no, I didn’t have a warm introduction. I reached out to him directly and got a response within 5 mins!, I was inspired by another entrepreneur who successfully raised funds in a similar way. (By the way, his email is publicly available and easy to find online.)

Several factors worked in our favor:

- We had an MVP and paying clients.

- In 2017, AI and machine vision were gaining traction and generating a lot of buzz.

- Plus, my academic background likely helped as well.

Build something valuable and get users. Investors will be knocking on your door. The real world is capitalist

Devils advocate, but you also will never have as little risk, and as much energy as you will when u are in your 20s. If you start in ur 20s, and fail - no big deal, as long as you keep expenses low - just find another job. Not so when you’re 40, have kids, a mortgage, more health issues, older parents to care for, etc

Good question. If I needed an investor I would go to meetups and talk to them coyly e.g. "yeah doing a startup, got some customers.... so how do you advise I reduce churn for this parricular segment" "can I pay for some time for advice" and such like. Tease em.

I’m 38 and have a start-up. I am more focused, energetic and hard working than in my 20s, and of many I’ve met.

Most funders and programmes disregard me due to age and gender (f), that’s their loss. These stereotypes aren’t helpful, but they won’t change anytime soon and no point complaining - I’ll just keep killing it.

‘I don’t want to be a product of my environment, I want my environment to be a product of me’ - this quote from the Departed aligns with my view ;)

A UK investor said to me treat it like a sale funnel. Reach out to 100-200 and hope for 5/10 meetings and convert a couple.

Conversion rate likely higher in US and depends obvs on you, your idea, your pitch, timing etc