Q: How can you develop a close personal rapport with investors? You know, given that they’re strangers and are busy with, erm, investing? Like this is advice a lot of people give, “Oh, you oughta network with investors, helps open doors and things later…  - Anirudh Rathi

Watch Eric’s response here.

Building rapport with investors is definitely important.

You can have all the logical reasons that an investor wants to connect. Like how your team is amazing and how you’ll create a positive outcome for everyone once they invest.

But as a founder, we often forget that people like to support other people they like. AKA their friends. This sounds simple but founders overlook this universal truth.

So we should think about the relationship between the investor and founder as a two-way street. This means building the relationship over time into something that feels like an equal relationship. AKA friends. 🙂

First meeting

When Eric meets with an investor for the first time, he likes to see whether they are comfortable with sharing some level of vulnerability with him. Eric’s not looking for their history of trauma or details about their childhood per se.

Eric’s looking to see if they can connect as human beings. If he shares his story about how he became an investor or his past experiences as an entrepreneur, will they share personal and sometimes vulnerable details about themselves as well?  

Being vulnerable with one another sets a good foundation of safety and trust. The best way to leverage relationships with investors is when you feel you can lean on them for the good and especially the bad times.

So testing that EQ by sharing a little bit of vulnerability and seeing if it’s reciprocated back is a good start for building that rapport.  

Nurture the relationship

Relationships take time to build. So after your first meeting, here are two simple ways to stay in touch that investors usually respond well to.

Send them things you think they would like

Invitations to local events, interesting articles pertaining to an industry they invest in, or new book recommendations. Investors love learning new things and being in the know.

Example: “Hey Eric - saw this piece on the economics of the fashion industry. I know you’re an investor in Hemster, so thought you might enjoy the insights.”

Share appreciation for their work

Leave a compliment on their Twitter thread, email positive feedback about a panel they sat on, list your biggest takeaways from their recent talk.

Example: “Hey Eric! Saw on Twitter that Hustle Fund just turned 6 years old! Huge congrats to you and the team on all you’ve built.”

This process of “giving” friendship without asking for anything in return will help them see you as a human and appreciate the time you’re dedicating to building the relationship.