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Raise like a PRO - the fine line between researching and stalking
...and why you shouldn't care.
David Levine
February 27, 2025
Welcome back to Raise Like a Pro 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
Researching investors is as annoying as someone emailing “Just Circling Back” but it’s essential.
If you’re raising money you have to do your research. Yes it’s boring. And tedious. And you’d rather be watching paint dry. But using those random email lists and sending out a generic pitch deck to every investor with an email address is a guaranteed way to get ignored. Investors are drowning in pitches, updates, and deal flow. Their inboxes are chaos. If you don’t make it immediately clear why they should care, you’re just noise.
Standing Out Isn’t Enough—You Have to Be Relevant
Being memorable isn’t the goal—being relevant is. You need to prove, within seconds, why your startup aligns with their portfolio, interests, and investment thesis. That means targeting the right person, not just the VC.
“Target the person, not just the VC
Too many founders assume that if they reach out to a venture firm, someone will route their pitch to the right person. They won’t. People are busy. And lazy. And sometimes arrogant. If you’re emailing a random general inbox or the wrong partner, your message is likely getting ignored.
Instead, you need to:
✅ Identify who at the firm actually invests in your sector.
✅ Tailor your pitch so they immediately see why it’s relevant to them.
✅ Reference their past investments or stated interests to show alignment.
More down below!
💰 Deals done this week
Oxfordshire-based Magdrive has raised $10.5 million (£8.3 million) in seed funding to advance its spacecraft propulsion technology, with its first in-orbit test of the Magdrive Rogue thruster set for June in collaboration with D-Orbit. The funding, led by Redalpine with participation from Founders Fund, Balerion, Alumni Ventures, Outsized Ventures, 7percent, and Entrepreneur First, will support scaling production, building a UK manufacturing facility, and expanding into the US. Magdrive aims to revolutionize space mobility to support mega constellations, asteroid mining, and in-space manufacturing, read more.
London-based Leafr has raised £600,000 in funding, led by Haatch VC with participation from NextStep, Venture Catalysts, and angel investors. The platform connects SMEs with sustainability experts at a fraction of the cost of traditional consultancies, addressing the growing demand for affordable sustainability expertise. Founded by Nick Valenzia and Gus Bartholomew, Leafr has a network of 1,000+ vetted consultants, serving clients like WD40, Freddie’s Flowers, and the UN Foundation. The funding will support expansion and scaling its platform to help businesses meet evolving sustainability regulations, read more.
London-based Audiological Science has secured a £12.4 million investment from YFM Equity Partners to expand its hearing health technology across new NHS regions. Founded in 2014, the company works with nine Integrated Care Boards in England, providing hearing tests, hearing aids, and audiology services. The funding will support scaling operations amid rising demand for community-based hearing care. Newly appointed non-executive chair Jon Lowe and CFO Phil Semke will join the leadership team to drive growth, read more.
Imperial College London spinout Safe Intelligence has raised £4.15 million in a seed funding round led by Amadeus Capital Partners, with participation from OTB Ventures and Vsquared Ventures. The company has developed an AI model testing system to detect deep fragilities, ensuring safer AI deployment across finance, healthcare, mobility, and defence. The funding will support expanding its verification technology, helping businesses validate AI models and mitigate risks associated with unverified machine learning components, read more.
Giving an investor a reason to care
The Method of the madness
Crafting the right outreach strategy seems easy but the devil is in the details. The process is as follows:
Research your investors - find a reason why they should care.
Create a spreadsheet - start a brand new CSV (which is the format the tools require) with name, email and your personalised hook (why they should care).
Create a 3 email sequence - Use any email tool (e.g. Woodpecker, Apollo, whatever) with your templated email and your personalisation hook.
Manage like a sales process - use a CRM/spreadsheet or whatever.
Who Actually Makes Investment Decisions?
Before you start researching you need to understand who does what. VC firms have different structures, but there are two key roles you need to understand:
Principals – They source deals and push them through the firm. They often don’t have final decision-making power, but they can champion you internally.
Associates – They handle research, filter inbound pitches, and bring strong deals to partners. If they see potential, they’ll escalate your startup to decision-makers.
Both can open doors—if you give them a compelling reason. I cannot say this strongly enough; it is literally these roles who are responsible for sourcing deals that fit a VC’s investment thesis and getting them over the line.
How to Find the Right Investors
Before reaching out, you need a target list of investors who are actually a fit. Here’s where to look:
OpenVC.app – Free database of VCs with filters by stage, geography, and sector.
Shipshape.vc – Helps you identify which investors actually write checks in your space.
Crunchbase, PitchBook, AngelList – Great for researching investor backgrounds and portfolio companies.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator – Lets you search by role, firm, and industry focus.
Building the right list is half the battle. Once you have it, you need to reach out the right way.
Personalisation at Scale
Lazy outreach is dead. If you’re sending the same email to 100 investors, expect 99+ to ignore it. Investors expect you to do your homework. You need to hyper-personalise at scale:
LinkedIn & X (Twitter) – What are they posting about? Engaging with? If they’re actively discussing a trend, reference it in your outreach.
Portfolio Research – What companies have they backed? Where do you fit? If they’ve invested in AI infrastructure but not applications, position your startup as a natural next step.
Investment Thesis – Every VC firm has one. Read it. Reference it. Make it obvious why you align.
Themes & Trends – Some investors focus on specific sectors (AI, climate tech, fintech). If your startup fits, call it out upfront.
This isn’t about flattery—it’s about showing you’ve done the work. Read all about the the VC firm but most importantly the person. Find out where they’re posting and what they’re posting. Use what you find out to show the investor you’ve done your homework and you can craft a compelling reason for them to give a toss about you.
How to Systemise Your Investor Outreach
Research takes time, but you can make it efficient. Here’s how:
✅ Use the right platforms – OpenVC, Shipshape, and LinkedIn Sales Navigator to identify investors who fit your criteria.
✅ Use the right tools – Apollo, Mailchimp, Woodpecker (or whatever) to automate sequences without losing personalisation.
✅ Build an investor CRM – A simple spreadsheet with:
Investor name
Firm
Email
Past investments
Personalised hook for why you’re reaching out. This is why they should care.
Follow-Up or Be Forgotten
Most responses come after the second or third email. No reply ≠ rejection. Investors are busy. Your persistence signals that you’re serious.
A simple follow-up sequence:
Day 0 – Initial email: Clear hook + teaser deck.
Day 7 – Polite nudge: “Just bringing this back to the top of your inbox.”
Day 14 – Final check-in: “Still open to a chat?”
Many founders give up too soon. Don’t.
Crafting Emails That Get Responses
Your email should be short, direct, and personalized. A simple framework:
Subject: Quick Intro – [Startup Name] & [Investor’s Firm]
Hi [Investor's Name],
I came across your work through [specific reference—LinkedIn post, podcast, portfolio company, etc.] and saw you’ve been active in [sector]. Given your interest in [investment thesis], I wanted to reach out about [your startup].
We’re building [one-liner about your startup]. We’ve [traction point: revenue, partnerships, user growth]. Given your work with [relevant portfolio company], I’d love to connect and see if this aligns with what you’re looking for.
Would you be open to a quick call next week?
Best,
[Your Name]
The first paragraph - this is your personalised hook. You’re telling them why they should care.
Why This Works:
✅ It’s short—investors don’t have time for essays.
✅ It’s personalised—they know this isn’t a mass email.
✅ It has social proof—traction + portfolio tie-ins = credibility.
✅ It ends with a clear CTA—make it easy for them to say yes.
The Playbook for Outreach That Works
Write a solid intro paragraph – The first sentence determines if they keep reading. Make it count.
Build your database – Track who you’ve emailed, when, and their responses.
Use outreach tools wisely – Automate the right parts (sending, follow-ups) but keep the first sentence custom.
Launch and track – Start with a small batch, adjust based on response rates, and optimize as you go.
Why This Works
Investors don’t fund companies—they fund founders who do the work. A well-researched, well-crafted pitch signals professionalism and makes you stand out.
Most founders send a generic deck and hope for the best. The ones who win? They treat investor outreach like sales—with research, precision, and follow-through.
Put in the work upfront, and you’ll be miles ahead of the competition.
Worked examples
Next week we’ll show you this working in-detail with demos and examples!
🤖 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 couple of tools that have been a game changer for me recently:
Descript: This tool allows you to type in text which is then converted into your voice. It is useful for podcasts or explainer videos. Try it
Rose: Offers a modern spreadsheet experience with familiar formulas and shortcuts. It enables chart creation, integrates with various platforms, features AI capabilities, and allows real-time collaboration. 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.