Dear Advisor: how do I Meet investors?

Originally published on September 2023, updated for relevancy in March 2024

I hear you! This is especially true for those of us who are first-time founders – and feel like we don’t have that investor network.

I’ll share the (free or relatively low-cost) ways that I’ve been meeting investors with the goal of building relationships, before offering to mentor their start-ups, sending them deal flow, or working together on AI due diligence.

I’ll assume you:

don’t want to go the precellerator/accelerator route to meet investors as part of the program – or you’ve gone through the program and are looking to expand the network; or are
starting from 0, and can't ask your existing investors for introductions.

Prerequisite: Decide Whom You’d Like to Meet

Do your research to really understand who do you want to meet:

Angel investors, institutional investors, private equity firms, etc.
What investment thesis you would fall under, e.g., B2B AI, CleanTech SaaS, etc.?

I highly recommend the "LA Venture Podcast" to get to know VCs in the area.

Bonus: Completing this prerequisite will also help you when you fundraise.

VCs are Panelists or Judges

One way to build the relationship here is to attend their events, learn about their fund, and follow up by touching on points they made -- or offer to make introductions to a company in their fund's thesis.

Pitch fest, whether that’s you or someone else pitching
(Pre)Accelerator Demo Days. Here’s a small selection in the LA area of those that don’t require you to be in the cohort to attend and are open to the general public (though you may need to apply to get a ticket):
- - Techstars Demo Day
  - FoundersBoost
  - UCLA Venture Accelerator
  - Women Founders Network (DolphinTank)
  - (many others)
AMAs with investors in the "hot seat" on panels, including those hosted by:
- Escalon’s (previously, Early Growth Financial Services) monthly "Meet the VC" (virtual) events
- Alliance for SoCal Innovation's events
- ExpertDOJO's events
- "Friday Morning Coffee" meetup (select events)

Events Shared in VC Newsletters

Newsletters by VCs (or associations), which from time to time will host events for their readers:

Jason Yeh’s newsletter on fundraising
Expert Dojo
LA Venture Association's (LAVA) newsletter
National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) newsletter

Other newsletters that share events with the community, which may include events that VCs attend:
- dot.LA (Please note: I’ll get a shout-out if 2+ people subscribe through my referral link)

Accelerator Mentor/Mentee

VCs are frequent accelerator mentors, giving back to the community and potentially for deal flow. By joining an accelerator as a fellow mentor -- or as a start-up in the cohort, you'll get an opportunity to meet other mentors and partners who are VCs.

Bonus