How to impress an investor and get funding? VC Vani Kola reveals the foolproof framework

Entrepreneurship lessons are always valuable, and coming from a venture capitalist – priceless.

Vani Kola took time off her busy schedule on Tuesday to share her start-up journey with her Twitter family.

Just like every first-time founder, the Kalaari Capital Managing Director and founder revealed that she didn’t know any venture capitalists (VCs), personally, when she was starting her first venture.

Looking for an investor is similar to looking for a potential customer, she said. “The mechanics of prospecting for a fund raise are very similar to prospecting for a potential customer,” she wrote.

In a six-series tweet, the 57-year-old VC listed out the basics new entrepreneurs should look out for when prospecting for investment.

Built outreach list

Kola suggested investing time in doing enough research as it can help entrepreneurs identify prospective investors and the key stakeholders for their start-up. Being methodical and classifying them based on their areas of interest, stage, difficulty of reach is important.

Break through the clutter

Keep your message short and simple, advises the Kalaari boss. Assuming the VCs get hundreds of emails in their inbox every day, new-age entrepreneurs have around 10 seconds to make an impression. “The objective is to get them interested in taking a meeting with you,” she stated.

Personalise messages go a long way

Sending the same mail to every investor isn’t a wise move, says Kola. Depending on the investor’s preference, send out a tailor-made message. “Do your research,” she stresses.

Follow-up diligently

Just sending one message and taking a back seat won’t help in getting the investor’s attention. After waiting for a few days, Kola recommends following up again at least 3 times. However, she suggests drafting a different message for each follow-up.

Be persistent

Kola assured that this framework worked for her when she raised her first million dollars. Don’t be dejected when you hear a ‘no’, or get intimidated approaching people you don’t know, she said.

“I still use (the framework) today for my other projects,” she wrote.

In another post, talking about the value of patience and perseverance, Kola said that people are rarely taught the skill to instill these critical qualities.

She quoted a tweet by Visualize Value that showed a circle taking 24 seconds to complete as Chinese philosopher Confucius’s word showed up in the video.

The quote read, “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”

Equiring if it was hard for her 83.3K followers to watch the circle complete, the VC said that people are generally wired to a “fast-paced, adrenaline-shot kind of efficiency.”

“Taking time, doing anything slowly can be difficult to adapt,” her caption read.

The lesson on perseverance wasn’t limited to Kola.

As a part of his #HarshRealities tweets, Marico Chairman Harsh Mariwala said focus and perseverance are key to success. “Do a few things, but do them well,” he urged his Twitter community.