Investors swarming!

They're everywhere. This is the first time I'm part of running a startup so fairly new to all this but I'm starting to consider investors like those people that do cold outreach asking for links and guest posts. Most site owners are very familiar with those requests that never stop.

With Plausible Analytics we're very clear on our social media and our website (including our about page) that we're not looking for investors, but we still keep getting requests via email and social media messages.

We've never replied to any but some of them do mention how they find us. I've seen them mention Product Hunt, Hacker News and GitHub among others. Some also mention why they reach out to us and this includes signals such as people posting great reviews about us.

Gives me a new view on investors. Seems like they're looking for something with a bit of traction to make their job easier I guess.

EDIT: Got another one now. And I never even replied to their original one! And they sent it to two different personal email addresses I have. Just like the guest post requests :) "I just wanted to follow-up on XXXXX's previous email and arrange a zoom call (30 - 45 mins.) when you have a moment. Would Nov. 3 at 13:15 UK Time work for you at all?"

Great question - I've raised a few $M from VCs and have seen some inside baseball.

What's probably happening:

• VCs have investment associates who have little, if any, power to write checks. Investment associates are either out of college / recent MBAs and typically spend their time networking around to find the cool new thing. They go to startup events but also cold email a bunch of companies they find interesting.
• If an investment associate emails you, either (1) they find your company interesting but have virtually no sway to get a deal done, (2) they're doing competitive/market intel for another deal they're considering, or (3) they're trying to get a perspective on a niche for their personal investment thesis.
• It's not always a waste of time to talk to them... but it usually is. You can always ask for referrals to people who'd buy your software. Or have them email their portcos about you.
• If it's a top-tier VC investment associate, would talk with them - they'll have a good network and could tweet about you & get you customers. At very least.

Now, if you have partners emailing you, that's different. There actually might be investment interest. But, watch out because there are a TON of VCs out there, some are small & new with very little raised.

On your question of "why are they deploying capital mid-pandemic"... they've got $MMM of capital committed, and the world's going topsy turvy, it's a great time to invest.

We've been getting more inquiries like this too recently.

I suspect most aren't real investors, but rather folks looking to flip online assets through the various online marketplaces like Flippa, etc.

I always do a couple quick checks on the inquiries:

1. Are they using a public email or private/business? If public (i.e. gmail), they're likely not a serious investor.
2. Do they include a website, phone number, etc.?
3. If website, how much detail is there on the website about the business and the principles? When was the domain registered?
4. Google the person's name to see what I can find

If you're really interested in selling one of your online assets, there are plenty of places you can go to do that, without having an additional middleman.

Also, if you're interested in this space, be sure to check out the https://www.indiehackers.com/group/website-investing IH group, managed by @Dealsflow

Probably because you hit $10K MRR recently. Lots of investors follow companies and then reach out when they hit a certain scale because then the investment is de-risked.

I wouldn't be surprised if there is a service that scrapes revenue numbers from IH and then notifies VCs when the company/product hits a certain threshold.

Keep on building!

Also COVID situation seems to VC as opportunity, like "those founders are low on cash, let's grab big share while they are"

Agree, always people reaching out.

Their emails always state how their fund is XXX millions and they invest minimum Y million in early stage startups.

For the most part conversations fizzle out I find.

I got one enquiry this week. It's not uncommon for people (some times lazily) cold emailing people found via IH.

I wonder if it was the same company that contacted you. 🤔

Making a lot of money always has a lot of consequences. You put a lot of energy and effort into your projects and the next you have a heart attack from too much stressing out. So why even bothering doing something knowing that something like that can happen to anyone. So, I think we need to hire a trust attorney in NYC - Ilona Shtark, so you could at least trust all your real estate to the people you love and care about.