Gawd. It’s wild how clueless some founders are…

…about what it really takes to get a strong intro. Or any intro at all.

Maybe I’m just that guy who obsesses over the small details, notices when they’re being done badly, and can’t let it slide. Nevermind…I’m definitely that guy.

Anyway, I’ve said for years that intros are the lifeblood of great fundraises. However, I’m only now realizing the massive gap between hearing that statement and understanding it enough to drive successful fundraises. Many founders don’t understand what actually compels someone to risk their reputation to make an intro on their behalf.  I’d also venture to guess that those who say they know…don’t fully know.  And I’d like to fix that.

The aforementioned gap in understanding is super important. Because if you don’t REALLY know what it takes, you might walk around thinking you’re a couple emails away from a warm fundraising process and millions in the bank, when the reality is you’ve got nothing. And then you hit a wall.  And Wall 🧱 + shrinking runway = 👎

Backstory (when did i start seeing this gap?)

A year and a half ago, I started offering a service to fix one of the biggest problems I saw in fundraising: insufficient effort spent towards getting warm introductions. Said differently, a common misstep founders make is not going deep enough into their networks to find great intros to potential investors.

The line I used when describing the gold they were looking was, “You don’t realize that the person you sat next to in ECON 101 freshman year now lives in San Francisco, married a venture capitalist, and would gladly put you in front of their spouse if you just asked. You just never thought of them as a valuable node in your fundraise.”

But why people don’t do that deep research into the dark corners of their networks makes sense.   LinkedIn data is dirty so new AI tools can’t do it all automagically. That shit takes a lot of time. Founders have other things to do.  This is all why we built the Launch Process. </end content marketing>

But this isn’t a sales pitch.  It’s a story.  What I learned impacts this essay.

After running Launch for 18 months, here’s what I learned:

• Some clients crushed it. Deep research plus targeted outreach unlocked countless amazing intros.
• Others using the same process, uncovering similar volumes of potential intros, using same quality copy….crickets. Barely any intros.

The difference in outcomes wasn’t so much the surprise…it was the reaction.  The 2nd category of founders were often shocked.  They wanted to know what was wrong with our service or couldn’t understand what was happening…  

I was prepared to explain to them we could do all the analysis and data mining in the world, but we wouldn’t be able to judge the the quality of their reputation. That’s when I realized, ”wow - they really don’t understand intros…”

The Two Drivers of Intros

So, why do some founders get intros and others don’t? It comes down to two things:

1. Reciprocity
2. Value

Let’s break those down.

1. Reciprocity

Reciprocity is the simplest to understand. People help people who’ve helped them before. It can be explicit (you made an intro for them, you sent them talent, you solved a problem) or subtle (you’ve been generous, useful, supportive over time). Either way, they feel some pull to repay the favor.

2. Value

Value can be described most cleanly like this…

People will make an intro if it benefits them.

Now the details of that are a little more complicated because there are different types of value that can be extracted from this process. The main one I want you all to be aware of is that act of connecting an investor with a great opportunity for the investor raises that person’s status. If they introduce a hot investment to an investor and it hits, they look good. They’re seen as someone with deal flow, someone with access. Said another way, if your deal / opportunity / etc obviously looks impressive, the person connecting you will actually get value out of making the intro. You’re doing THEM a favor in this case.

The secondary category of value is only secondary because it applies to fewer founders.  I’m talking  about your inherent value separate from your company. Do you have a background that screams you’re a winner. Have you won before?  If you answer “yes” then making an intro to you would make someone look good.  A close cousin to that, are you interesting or important enough for the connector to want YOU to think positively about them?  Even further, are you someone that they would find value in holding reciprocity debt with?  

So,can you get that intro?

Ask yourself: are you the kind of founder who makes the person introducing you look smart? And if you on your own don’t have that pull, is the story of your company exciting enough to make an introduction to you seem like a gift?

Or on the other hand are you so unproven, and your business so early, that an intro actually puts their reputation at risk?

THIS is what you have to understand before tapping into great warm introductions.

A Story That Brought This Home

Last week I got a random call from a founder I’d worked with before. I’d made a couple intros for him, partly because I respected him, partly because I thought others would genuinely enjoy meeting him.

He told me, “I’m not sure you realize how good of a reputation you have out there. If you wanted to raise money tomorrow, you’d have investors lined up. I’ve never heard such positive remarks about someone in these settings.”

That was really…nice.

Not because I’m out there trying to build clout, but because it confirmed i’ve been doing things all these years the right way. Acting with integrity (even through my mistakes). Helping when it was easy. Helping sometimes when it wasn’t. Doing good work. Being someone people actually like having around.

That stuff compounds. And eventually, when you need it, people show up.

If You’re Early

Now, not everyone has a decade to stack up goodwill before they need to cash it in. If you’re young or new to the ecosystem, you don’t have that bank built up. Which means the burden is heavier on the other side of the equation: you need to represent obvious, undeniable value.  Much quicker than building up goodwill is driving your company to make progress and milestones that scream “THIS IS A VALUABLE COMPANY.”

You might not be able to tap into fundraising intros as quickly as someone with a longer career (old) like me, but at least you know what you can affect on your own.  BUILD A GREAT COMPANY.

That’s the bar.

Building Reciprocity

Just because it takes time, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t start building a great network that will want to help you in the future. Start small. Again, this stuff compounds! Invest in your network the way you wish others would invest in you.   Help when you know you can and it’s ok if it’s easy. It doesn’t have to be big, performative, or a burden to be worthwhile. Try things like:

1. Making thoughtful connections
2. Inviting people to dinners or events
3. Sharing useful articles or insights
4. Sending great candidates their way
5. Offering feedback when you see something worth improving
6. Giving genuine compliments
7. Checking in, ask how they’re doing
8. Celebrating their wins

None of this pays off tomorrow. But it starts to stack and if you needed another reason to do it… it just feels good to be helpful.

The Bottom Line

Whether you’ll actually get that intro comes down to one of two things: either you’ve invested into relationships long enough that reciprocity works in your favor, or you’re such a compelling founder that making the intro brings value to the other person. Ideally, both.

So do good work. Be good to people. Help when it’s easy. Help when it’s not. Then, when you need it, the intros will flow.

Go out there and do what you need to do to get connected to the investors who might lead your next round!

Be chased,

Jason