The most common fundraising mistake
Most early-stage founders approach fundraising as a numbers game: build a long list, send the deck to everyone on it, and hope a few reply. The result is usually a wall of silence, and the conclusion that "investors aren't interested."
More often, the problem isn't the startup. It's the list. A Series A fund will rarely lead a pre-seed round, and an angel network focused on first checks won't be the right partner once you need a large growth round. Sending the right deck to the wrong investor wastes time on both sides.
Finding investors isn't the hard part anymore. Finding the ones that match your stage, geography and timing is. That's exactly what this guide, and the database at the end of it, are built to help you do.
First, know which round you're raising
Our database groups 6,796 investors across 122 countries by the round they prefer to invest in. Before you contact anyone, be clear about which of these three buckets you belong to.
Pre-seed: 3,224 angels, accelerators and incubators
This is the largest group in the database, and the natural starting point if you have an idea, a prototype or an early MVP. These investors back founders before the numbers prove much, so your team, your insight into the problem and your speed of execution carry most of the weight.
Seed: 2,957 funds
Seed investors expect a working product and early signs that people want it: first customers, usage growth, a strong waitlist or pilots. The pool is still large, but your pitch has to shift from potential to evidence.
Series A: 615 funds
The pool shrinks sharply here. With roughly one Series A fund for every five seed funds in the database, competition for each one is much higher, and these investors look for proven traction and a clear path to scale. If you're not there yet, it's usually better to build those relationships now and pitch later.
Where the capital is
The database spans 122 countries, but investors are concentrated in a handful of markets:
United States: 1,503 investors
Germany: 637
United Kingdom: 381
France: 239
India: 182
At city level, London (259), New York City (244), San Francisco (218), Berlin (153) and Paris (133) lead the list. And for founders building in Spain, there are 121 Spain-based investors in the database, a solid local starting point before going international.
Location still matters at the early stage. Many investors prefer companies they can meet in person or that operate in markets they know, so starting close to home often gives you the warmest first conversations.
Photo by Christian Velitchkov on Unsplash
How to build your target list in 4 steps
Filter by stage. Open the tab that matches your round (Pre-seed, Seed or Series A) and ignore the rest for now.
Filter by geography. Start with investors in your country or region, then expand to the markets where your customers are.
Research each fund. Visit their website and check their thesis, recent investments and typical check size. Cut anyone who invests in competitors or in sectors far from yours.
Find the right person. Use the "Key people" column to identify partners by name, then look for the one whose portfolio is closest to what you're building.
Aim for a focused list of 50 to 100 well-researched investors rather than hundreds of generic ones. A shorter list lets you personalise every message, and personalisation is what gets replies.
Photo by Cytonn Photography on Unsplash
How to reach out without getting ignored
Warm intros first. An introduction from a founder in their portfolio, an operator they trust or a mutual contact will always outperform a cold email. Map your network before writing to anyone.
Keep cold emails short. If you do write cold, lead with your strongest traction metric in the first line, explain what you're building in one sentence, and attach or link a concise deck.
Follow up without chasing. One or two polite follow-ups spaced about a week apart is enough. Share a real update each time, such as a new customer or a product milestone.
Track everything. Use a simple CRM or spreadsheet to log who you contacted, when, and what happened next. Fundraising is a pipeline, and it needs to be managed like one.
Mistakes to avoid
Pitching Series A funds at pre-seed. It burns relationships you'll want later.
Mass-emailing 500 investors with the same message. Generic outreach is easy to spot and easy to ignore.
Skipping the research. Pitching a fund that just backed your competitor, or that doesn't invest in your sector, signals you didn't do the homework.
Waiting too long to start. Investor relationships take months to build. Start the conversations before you need the money.
Get The Full Investor Database: 6,796 pre-seed, seed and Series A investors with website, HQ country and city, key people and preferred round, ready to filter and turn into your target list.
Want to go further? Members of The Enduring Founder get access to deeper investor contacts and guidance to turn this list into real conversations.
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