The Value of Investors' Time

It's the one thing they can't make more of

Founders constantly ask for 15 minutes of investors’ time; they want a quick call, some simple feedback, or the cliché “opportunity to pick your brain.” 👉🧠

Since investors already have capital, the thing they rightfully hoard is their time.

Remember: time spent on general advice to founders outside their portfolio is time taken away from supporting their current companies.

If you want to earn that time, your request must meet these three criteria:

• 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 < 𝟭𝟱 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 (𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗳 < 𝟱): The ask must be surgical and efficient. Can you pitch your ask in less than two minutes? Brevity builds trust. ⏱️

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺: They’re not going to walk through a 27-page deck.

• 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁: If you haven’t researched their thesis, you won’t know if or how your ask will appeal. 📚

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺: Don’t show a lack of preparedness by asking a generic question anyone can answer like, “What do you think of our packaging?” Show that you value their expertise by addressing it in your ask.

• 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲: “Free” time is an investment in a future relationship. Making an ask too early is a surefire way to signal how not ready you are. 🤝

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺: In most cases, strategics aren’t having conversations with drink brands that have less than $3-5 million in an annual revenue. Start with angels.