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Raise like a PRO - Deep research and outreach; how to do the do...
...the way I do.
David Levine
March 06, 2025
Welcome back to Raise Like a Pro dear reader! ; a newsletter to help you do exactly that.
I'm David, and unlike most people giving fundraising advice, I don't just talk about raising money – I’ve been there as a founder and now I spend my day raising money for startups all over the world from investors all over the world.
I've closed millions in new investment in the past few months alone for startups - and I’m going to teach you how to do it without needing someone like me. This is my playbook; the operational, tactical and yes - sometimes boring stuff you need to do each and every day to raise your round.
No nonsense, no fluff and definitely no fuzzy sheep.
Table of Contents
My promise to you
Every piece of advice in this newsletter comes from actual experience: deals I've closed, terms I've negotiated, and strategies I've refined through real-world application.
I'm not here to give you startup platitudes or generic advice. Instead, you'll get practical, actionable tactics that you can implement immediately in your fundraising journey.
The goal? To help you raise money faster, at better valuations, while protecting your interests and your time.
– David
Going deep into research and outreach
Last week I talked about the importance of doing the boring, grunt work around researching investors and using tools like Apollo and Woodpecker to automate outreach.
This stuff is essential; it’s literally what I do day-in and day-out to get successful fund-raises over the line and investment banked for the founders I work with.
This week I’m going to go even deeper and share a video of me actually doing the research and email automation.
Check out the full article below!
🔥Deck Roast with Dan Bowyer of SuperSeed
Dan Bowyer is a lean, mean, deck-roasting machine. As parter at SuperSeed he reviews dozens of decks every single week. Good decks, bad decks and everything in-between decks. He's built and exited two businesses and angel invests as he walks his dog.
And he's going to be my next guest VC roasting decks here, there and everywhere.
Come and watch us read aloud 3 cold-called decks. We're going to tell you what we really think without filters. We'll be direct, we'll be candid and we'll be as honest as the day is long.
March 17th. We might even be dressed as leprechauns.
👍🏻 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘂𝗽
💰 Deals done this week
London-based Relay has secured a $35 million (£27.6 million) investment, led by Plural VC with participation from Project A and Prologis Ventures, to enhance its AI-powered logistics platform. The startup’s decentralised delivery model reduces shipping distances by up to 95%, cutting costs and improving efficiency for e-commerce retailers like THG, My Protein, and Glossybox. The funding will support AI and machine learning advancements as Relay scales its network across the UK and beyond, read more.
London-based PassEntry has raised £5.2 million in a funding round co-led by Acurio Ventures and Bonsai Partners to accelerate its international expansion into five new markets, including North America and Asia Pacific. Founded in 2019, the startup provides digital passes for Apple and Google Wallets, working with brands like Holland & Barrett and Sofi Stadium. The funding will help scale its customer base by 300%, expand its point-of-sale integrations, and grow its presence beyond 10 global markets by year-end, read more.
London-based Quantexa has raised $175 million in a Series F round led by Teachers’ Venture Growth, with participation from BNY, AlbionVC, and HSBC, increasing its valuation to $2.6 billion (£2 billion). The AI-driven Decision Intelligence platform provider will use the funding to expand in North America, pursue M&A opportunities, and grow its Public Sector Business Unit. Founded in 2016, Quantexa is now the third-most valuable AI firm in the UK, following ElevenLabs ($3.2B) and Wayve ($3B), read more.
London-based Swap has raised $40 million in a Series B round led by Iconiq Growth, with participation from Cherry Ventures, QED Investors, Portfolio Ventures, and 9900 Capital. The startup provides logistics and shipping management tools for e-commerce brands, helping them navigate tariffs and cross-border trade complexities. With 500 brands already onboard, Swap plans to expand into Europe, the U.S., Australia, and Canada, while developing industry-specific solutions for fashion, beauty, home goods, and consumer tech. The funding will also enhance its unified data platform to improve operational insights, read more.
London-based Lenkie has raised £49 million in Series A funding, comprising £4 million in equity and a £45 million debt facility, led by a US private credit fund. Founded in 2021, the cashflow management platform provides fast and flexible capital to SMEs through a transaction-based funding model, covering supplier payments upfront. Lenkie has funded over £70 million for SMEs across 40 countries, leveraging real-time data and proprietary underwriting technology to enhance financial inclusion. The funding will support model improvements, platform partnerships, and market expansion to address the £22 billion UK SME funding gap, read more.
Level Up Your Fundraising Game: Deep Investor Research for Maximum Impact
Landing the right investor can be a game-changer for your startup. But how do you ensure it's the right investor and, more importantly, grab their attention in a meaningful way? It all starts with deep research. This is literally how do I it for founders each and every day.
Some of it’s boring. Some of it you wish you’d rather not have to do. But you gotta do what you gotta do.
Step 1: Identify Potential Investors
Start by casting a wide net and identifying potential investors who align with your industry, stage, and location. Here's how:
Leverage Online Tools: Platforms like OpenVC and ShipShape are invaluable. Filter by industry (e.g., SaaS), location (e.g., United Kingdom), funding stage (e.g., Pre-seed), and revenue to generate a targeted list of potential investors.
Explore Investor Websites: Once you have a list, delve into individual investor websites. Look for key information such as:
Investment Stage: Do they focus on pre-seed, seed, or later-stage companies?
Investment Size: What's the typical check size they write?
Investment Themes: What sectors or technologies are they most excited about?
Portfolio Companies: Examining their existing portfolio can reveal their investment preferences and areas of expertise.
Step 2: Dig Deeper: Individual Investor Research
Identifying the right firm is only half the battle. You need to understand the individual investor you'll be contacting.
LinkedIn is Your Friend: Find the investor's LinkedIn profile and scrutinize their background, connections, and activity.
Look for Common Threads: What companies have they invested in personally (angel investments)? What are they passionate about? Do they have any relevant experience or expertise that aligns with your company?
Uncover Their "Hooks": What's a recent investment they made? What are they posting about? Use these insights to craft a personalised message.
Step 3: Organise Your Findings
Create a spreadsheet (.csv format) to track your research and streamline your outreach efforts. Key columns to include:
First Name
Last Name
VC Firm
Email Address
Hook: This is the most critical column. Craft a concise, compelling sentence demonstrating you've done your research and offering a compelling reason for them to consider your company.
Step 4: Automate Your Outreach (Smartly)
Personalised outreach at scale is possible with tools like Apollo.io. Here's how to set up a targeted email sequence:
Create a Custom Field: In Apollo, create a custom field called "Hook" to store the personalised hook you crafted for each investor.
Craft Your Sequence: Develop a series of 2-3 emails designed to pique interest and drive engagement.
Email 1: Focus on personalisation. Reference their recent investment or a shared interest. Remember: The subject sells the open, the open sells the copy, the copy sells the deck, and the deck sells that first call.
Email 2 & 3: Reply to the previous thread to keep the conversation going. Briefly reiterate your value proposition and include a call to action.
Import Your Data: Upload your spreadsheet into Apollo, mapping the columns to the appropriate fields (including your custom "Hook" field).
Activate Your Sequence: Double-check your work and launch your campaign.
Crafting the Perfect Hook: Examples
The "hook" is the key to breaking through the noise and demonstrating you've done your homework. Here are a couple of examples:
“Loved your investment in Powdr; love how someone who has spent his entire industry is building something from the ground up to fix the problems in his everyday! We’re doing something similar but in a different space”.
"Loved what you wrote about wanting to eat banana muffins every single day of your existence. We love them too! That’s why we invented the world’s first AI-powered banana muffin factory. Would love your thoughts!”.
The Takeaway
Thorough investor research is an investment in your company's future. By understanding an investor's focus and tailoring your approach, you dramatically increase your chances of securing funding from the right partner. It might seem like a lot of work but in the long run it will save you time and energy. Good luck!
Watch me do it
I recently put together a video of me doing this for a specific opportunity. Take a look here.
🔹 Timestamps:
00:00 – Introduction: Why investor research matters
01:15 – Using OpenVC to find well-matched investors
03:45 – Deep-diving into investor profiles for insights
06:30 – Creating a targeted investor list in a spreadsheet
08:50 – Finding investor emails using Apollo
11:15 – Setting up an automated email sequence in Apollo
14:00 – Ensuring personalisation to maximise responses
16:30 – Final steps & how to optimise your outreach
📌 Tools Used in This Video:
🔗 OpenVC: https://openvc.app
🔗 Apollo: https://apollo.io
Investor lists: a word of warning
You know those lists that get sent out on LinkedIn with titles like “The List of all Investor Lists to rule them all - just comment on my post”?
Yeah. You do.
We see them. We run then through our new-fangled investor machine.
>95% of the entires are utter rubbish. Really. They’re out of date. The people have moved on. Different jobs. Different VCs. And in some cases? Different planes of existence 🪦.
And the odd entry that does work? Can you imagine being that person on that list?
Sorry. There are no short cuts in this game. Those lists are free for a reason; they don’t work. You can’t escape doing the hard work yourself. Research. Find the right person. And master your outreach like a Master Outreacher.
🤖 AI in fundraising
Fundraising is time-intensive and distracts from what matters - building the business. Emerging AI tools will help you save time whether summarising investor requests, preparing for meetings, or managing due diligence materials.
Here are a few tools that have been a game changer for me recently:
Flux AI – Generate high-quality, realistic images. Whether for branding, marketing, or product visuals, Flux AI helps you create stunning visuals without design expertise. Try it
Napkin AI – Capture and refine ideas effortlessly. Turn scattered thoughts into structured, actionable insights—perfect for brainstorming, planning, and pitching. Try it
Lovable – Build web apps in minutes. Just describe your idea, and Lovable generates a functional prototype instantly, complete with live editing and GitHub integration. Try it
📖 Interesting things I’ve been reading….
About Raise Like a Pro
Raising a funding round isn’t rocket science. It’s not even brain surgery. But it's incredibly time-consuming, HARD and emotionally challenging.
As a founder, your time is better spent building product, finding product-market fit, signing up customers, and building your team. Yet fundraising demands an enormous amount of your attention and energy.
I've witnessed countless founders struggle with this balance. They get stuck in the cycle of endless pitch meetings, confusing feedback, and the dreaded "no's" that seem to pile up without explanation. Even successful companies like Canva, now valued at $25.5 billion, started with their CEO Melanie Perkins hearing "no" over 100 times before getting that crucial first "yes."
I'm going to share my exact playbook – the same one I use to raise millions for startups across the world. This isn't about theory or inspiration. Instead, you'll get:
The actual processes I use to close deals.
Step-by-step morning routines for effective fundraising.
Real email templates that get responses.
Meeting scripts that convert to term sheets.
Pipeline management techniques that close deals.
The stuff you really need to know so you don’t get screwed by investors.
My days are spent navigating negotiations with every type of investor: angels looking for their next big win, syndicates pooling capital for bigger deals, and VC firms conducting thorough due diligence.
I'll share insights from all these perspectives, helping you understand how each type of investor thinks and what they're really looking for.
What's coming up
In the next issues, we'll dive into a whole bunch of stuff including:
How to structure your fundraising for maximum efficiency
The exact outreach strategies I use to get investor meetings
Common terms to watch out for (and how to negotiate them)
Ways to create competitive tension in your raise
Due diligence preparation that speeds up closing
Raise like a Pro is what David Levine does every single day though this business Glenluna Ventures. An exited founder, he raises money each and every day for founders all over the world from investors all over the world.