What founders get wrong raising from angels

Most founders who reach out to me about raising capital make the same two mistakes.

I do a small amount of angel investing, and I've raised from angels and family offices myself. I've been on both sides of this.

Angels are incredible sources of early capital, especially if they have real experience in your industry. For example, sports tech is genuinely hard to raise for. Most generalist investors don't understand the space or see the outcomes. Finding someone who knows it and actually wants to help matters a lot. Angels fit the bill.

But the way most founders approach the outreach is making it harder than it needs to be.

1. Get a warm intro.

Cold outreach asking for capital is a tough road. Not because you're not good, but because when you're early, I'm betting almost entirely on you. The business will change. The market will shift. What I'm trying to figure out is whether you can hustle, recruit, pivot, and stay in it when things go wrong.

A warm intro doesn't guarantee anything, but it gives me a reason to trust you before we've ever spoken. Without it, I have to build that conviction from scratch. I only angel invest on the side, so that's a high bar. Getting the intro also tells me something: you can hustle and find a way in when it matters.

I can't remember a single angel on my cap table who didn't come from a warm intro.

2. If you're raising, just ask for money.

You've probably heard the advice: don't ask for money, ask for advice, and the money will follow. There's real truth in that, but only in a specific context. If you build a genuine advising relationship with someone over time, trust compounds and investment becomes a natural conversation.

What doesn't work is reaching out cold, framing the ask as wanting guidance, and then pivoting to an investment ask at the end of the first call.

I can tell within a few minutes. That call wastes both our time. I take those calls because I enjoy helping early founders. When it ends with a bait and switch, it doesn't make me more likely to invest. It makes me less likely to take the next call.

If you want to raise capital, just say that. It lets us have the right conversation from the start. If I'm interested, we can talk about the business, the deck, the opportunity. If I'm not, I'll tell you, and you can move on faster.

A warm intro gets you in the room. A direct ask makes sure we're both having the same conversation once you're there.

Hope this is useful to anyone out there raising capital right now.