Foundations of LP Networks - highlights
- Investor Networks are Built on Trust & Relationships
- Investor engagement is relationship-driven and requires high trust.
- Branding and thought leadership help establish trust but don’t replace direct relationships.
- Investor engagement is relationship-driven and requires high trust.
- Mass Outreach and Investor Lists Don’t Work
- Lists of active investors are clickbait and ineffective for deal flow.
- Automated outreach is unlikely to generate meaningful investor engagement.
- Lists of active investors are clickbait and ineffective for deal flow.
- Understanding Investor Psychology & Investment Thesis
- Every investor has a thesis, typically defined by:
- Sector or domain (70% weight)
- Geography (20% weight)
- Stage of companies (10% weight)
- Sector or domain (70% weight)
- Investors are more likely to invest in industries they understand or have a connection to.
- Every investor has a thesis, typically defined by:
- Regional Focus Matters for Early-Stage Investment
- Pre-seed and seed-stage investors typically invest locally.
- Exceptions include diaspora investors or regions with natural economic corridors.
- Pre-seed and seed-stage investors typically invest locally.
- Positioning a Syndicate vs. Other Investment Vehicles
- VC funds require high capital commitments and offer no control over deal selection.
- Syndicates provide:
- Curation & filtering benefits (deal sourcing & diligence)
- Decision control (angels choose which deals to back)
- Time savings (syndicate leaders handle due diligence)
- Diversification (spreading capital across multiple high-quality deals)
- Curation & filtering benefits (deal sourcing & diligence)
- VC funds require high capital commitments and offer no control over deal selection.
- Investor Engagement is the Primary Bottleneck, Not List Size
- A large mailing list is meaningless if investors are not engaged.
- One-on-one onboarding calls are key to long-term investor engagement.
- A large mailing list is meaningless if investors are not engaged.
- The 100-Investor Growth Tipping Point
- Once a syndicate reaches 100 engaged investors, organic referrals start compounding.
- Investor acquisition becomes inbound rather than outbound.
- Regular deal flow and strong relationships drive growth without additional marketing efforts.
- Once a syndicate reaches 100 engaged investors, organic referrals start compounding.
- Scalability Comes from Upfront Investor Onboarding
- Speaking to investors personally ensures long-term engagement.
- A self-service process is essential for efficient deal execution at scale.
- Speaking to investors personally ensures long-term engagement.
Building a successful investor network is a relationship-first, trust-driven process. Scalable, impersonal outreach methods don’t work; instead, one-on-one engagement and high-quality deal flow drive sustainable syndicate growth.
