5 tips for connecting VCs with Alon Cinamon of Ibex Investors

Alon Cinamon​ is an Associate at ​Ibex Investors​, an American VC firm investing in Israeli startups. He is also the founder of VC Club, an NGO that educates top students about venture capital and hosts a podcast focused on the startup ecosystem in Israel.

I hosted Alon at the ​Meet.Capital Startup Podcast​, and he shared a lot of insights and tips for startups. Among them, here are 5 of his tips for connecting with VCs:

1. Take the lead: You are the driver of your fundraising journey. Take the lead, follow up consistently, and keep the process moving, even if you feel ignored. VCs use how you handle fundraising as a way to assess your leadership skills in sales, hiring, and partnerships.

2. Build Relationships Early: Start forming connections with VCs before you need funding. Building trust and rapport takes time, so don’t wait until you’re actively raising capital.

3. Warm Introductions (whenever possible): When you want to approach a VC, make an effort to find a way to get introduced to them, by using your existing network. Cold outreach can work, but it is your last resort - use it only if you cannot get a warm intro. 

4. Associates can be your champions: Don't ignore associates or principals within VC firms. Is is true that the general partners make investment decisions, but associates can take you a long way, especially if you build a strong relationship with them. They can advocate for you internally and help position your startup positively with partners.

5. Look for active VC funds: VCs operate in cycles, and aren't always investing at the same pace. Focus on VCs with newly announced funds or recent investments. You can find such announcements on their social media accounts or in specialized publications (such as Techcrunch). These firms are more likely to have available capital, and actively deploy it.

* You can watch our whole conversation on ​YouTube​, or listen to it on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.