How do you get a warm intro to a VC?

“In our survey, nearly 90% of VC deals came through the VC's network, and only 10% arrived cold from management. A warm intro works best when the connector can speak to your team's quality, because VCs weight the jockey above the horse almost every time. So find someone who has actually seen you build, and ask them to make the case.”

“When I got to the Valley with zero investor contacts, I leaned on Adam Smith and Matt Brezina at Xobni; their intros to Aydin Senkut and Paul Buchheit became the seed round for Justin.tv. Warm intros come from founders you actually know, not from LinkedIn theater, so start by being useful to the people already one degree from the money.”

“Cold emails are basically lottery tickets. At Flybridge, zero of our investments came in over the transom.”

“I used to think warm intros were the only way in, but most of my best deals came from me cold-outbounding founders, not the other way around. If you want a warm intro, find someone the VC already trusts, a founder in their portfolio or a mutual engineer, and make it easy for them to vouch for you with one sentence on why you matter.”

“I get a lot of cold email at gaurav@afore.vc and I read all of it, but the fastest path through our funnel is a mutual connection who can tell me how they know you and what your startup actually does. We also run Afore Alpha and our showcase so founders without a network can reach us directly.”

“I tell founders to just email me at lin@sequoiacap.com; a warm intro helps, but what actually gets the meeting is a clear, compelling signal that you've built something real and thought hard about your business.”

“The best intro usually comes from a founder that VC has already backed, not from another investor who passed. I also tell our founders not to overthink it: if you know me and someone wants to meet, just make the intro, no memo required.”

“I used to truck up and down Sand Hill Road with my co-founder and bought into the tribal tales about needing some magic connection to get a meeting at Sequoia or Kleiner. The truth is, our emails are on the website and we are in the business of meeting founders, so a warm intro is helpful but not required.”

“I built Fast Round partly because founders overthink warm intros: just find which investors already follow you on X and DM them. The best intro is one you don't need, because the investor already knows your work.”

“The best warm intro comes from a founder we already back or an operator we've worked with, because their reputation is on the line, not just yours. If you don't have that line, build it the old-fashioned way: do something impressive, make it visible, and let the network find you.”

“The best warm intro usually comes from a founder that VC already backed, because their signal matters more than any LinkedIn message I could ever receive. Host a small event or show up to one where those founders actually hang out, then let the relationship build from something real.”