Ask HN: How are founders finding investors without warm intros in 2025?
It feels like getting investor intros is still one of the biggest bottlenecks for early-stage founders.
I’ve seen countless threads saying “you need warm intros” - but in reality, not everyone has that network on day one. Cold emails and DMs often go unread, and accelerator “investor lists” feel outdated or generic.
So I’m curious:
1. How are you finding and reaching out to investors without existing connections?
2. Have any particular strategies, tools, or outreach methods worked for you recently?
3. Is personalization or timing more important in getting actual replies?
Would love to hear what’s been working (or not) in 2025’s fundraising environment
- Get into a reputable accelerator program, you’ll build your network.
- Find meet ups in your major metropolitan area.
- Your 2nd and 3rd degree networks are bigger than you imagine, you can absolutely get a warm intro.
- Forgo all investment and bootstrap.
connect w scouts - invite them for a coffee closeby their office - those are (younger) roles that build pipeline for the partners
cold emails and DMs often go unread
Often that’s because spam filters tend to filter out unsolicited emails. DM’s work similarly.
Getting a warm intro requires resourcefulness. That’s a skill investors value. If a warm intro is too much work, then building a startup will be too.
Of course if you build something interesting investors may look for you…and you will need a good spam filter to filter distractions. Good luck
Traction opens doors imo. Unless it’s some hard tech thing and you’re an Ivy League or industry expert with a solid plan.