What this is
Being known before the first meeting is requested. That takes two to four quarters of visible thinking in the category, not a warm introduction in week one.
What you get
Where it sits
The story investors and acquirers are actually buying.
Frequently asked
No. Investor relations is for companies with existing investors and reporting obligations. This is building awareness with investors you have not yet met.
Almost never during a process. Post about the category, the problem and what you are learning. The raise itself is not interesting to anyone except you.
Warm introductions become easier to get, and first meetings start further along than they used to.
An investor who already knows your thinking arrives at the first meeting past the credibility question. That advantage cannot be manufactured in the month you start raising.
The relevant audience is the twenty to forty investors whose stated thesis matches what you are building. Visibility to everyone else is noise.
Search results, old posts, past interviews and previous claims all get reviewed. Inconsistency between what you said two years ago and what you are saying now is a genuine diligence issue and it is fixable in advance.
Investors notice founders who have been publishing substance for a year. They discount founders who started six weeks before the raise, and they can tell.
Also in Fundraise & Exit Narrative
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