Ask HN: I want an investment for my startup, where do I start?
What's the best way to get in contact with an investor?
I'm considering getting funding for my startup but have no idea who I need to get in touch with or what to look for.
But to answer your question about how to contact investors, the best way is through personal contacts. Depending on where you live, this could be more or less difficult. You'll also need to 'sell' your start-up to the contacts first. I doubt a contact would do an introduction for you without knowing what they were introducing. Use this to your advantage. Pitch any contacts you have who might be able to introduce you to investors. This will also give you practice with your pitch and help you refine it.
You can also try AngelList, but my understanding (I've never tried it) is that you'll need to have social proof to really get anywhere on the platform.
Are there technology/entrepreneur meet-ups in your area? If so, go to them. You may not meet investors there (though you might), but you will meet other start-ups and somewhere somebody is getting an investment and they have contacts in the angel/VC community.
Lastly, keep in mind that it isn't about what 'you' want. You have to sell the investor on your business and you. It's what THEY want. Telling them that you want investment so you can grow your business, etc. etc. I'm told won't get you very far.
It is better to tell them what you're building, where it is going, why it is going to change the world and make a ton of money. Ask for advice, not investment. Ask for investment and you'll get advice, ask for advice and you'll get investment.
I'm looking for some marketing help mainly. Although we are basically ready for launch I'm worried that without investment we won't have that initial boost which will kick start our user base, which is quite important as it's a social product.
I've attending one startup meetup in my area. I'll be attending some more next year. I'll have to see if I can get any contacts from them.
Thank you.
Next, once you've gotten your MVP built, the next major step should be to get those users together to try your MVP during a private beta. This will help you fix bugs, adjust the MVP, and add features that the early adopters suggests. This should be the step you guys should be working on now. You shouldn't be out there trying to do a massive launch, but rather find a small group of people willing to try your product out.
Once you're done with that, then you potentially will try to get the word out to the masses and garner traction. Without social proof, without any form of traction (user or revenue), and being first time entrepreneurs, you'll have a much harder time raising capital if you don't get at least have the above done (albeit anything is possible). You absolutely do not need funding to get that much done.
There is a saying that it is better to get a few users who absolutely love your product early on than a bunch of users who somewhat like your product. Focus on this.