---
user-invocable: true
name: investor-research
description: Research investors before pitching - their thesis, portfolio, and what they care about
tokens: ~400
cloud-ok: true
---

# Investor Research
#claudeai

## When to Use
You're preparing to pitch an investor, got an intro, or deciding who to target.

## What I Need
- Investor/fund name
- Partner name (if specific)
- Your company stage and sector

## Research Checklist

### Fund-Level Intel
- [ ] Fund size (how much can they invest?)
- [ ] Investment stage (pre-seed, seed, A, etc.)
- [ ] Typical check size
- [ ] Thesis / focus areas
- [ ] Portfolio companies
- [ ] Recent investments
- [ ] Fund age (are they deploying or harvesting?)

### Partner-Level Intel
- [ ] Partner's background (operator or career VC?)
- [ ] Their personal thesis / interests
- [ ] Boards they sit on
- [ ] Content they publish (Twitter, blog, podcasts)
- [ ] Speaking topics
- [ ] Companies they've led investments in

### Portfolio Analysis
- [ ] Companies similar to yours (good or bad?)
- [ ] Competitive investments (conflict?)
- [ ] Success stories (patterns?)
- [ ] How they help portfolio companies

## Where to Look

| Source | What You'll Find |
|--------|------------------|
| Fund website | Thesis, team, portfolio |
| Crunchbase | Investment history, check sizes |
| LinkedIn | Partner background |
| Twitter/X | What they care about now |
| Their blog/newsletter | Deeper thinking |
| Podcasts (as guest) | How they talk, what they value |
| Portfolio founder testimonials | How they actually work |
| AngelList / Signal | Investment patterns |

## Pattern Matching

### Positive Signals
- They've invested in your space before
- Partner has operator experience in your domain
- Recent fund raise (have capital to deploy)
- Tweeting about your problem area
- Portfolio companies you could learn from

### Red Flags
- Competitive portfolio company
- Fund is old (might be in harvest mode)
- No investments in your stage/sector
- Bad reputation among founders
- Slow decision-making reputation

## Output Format

```
## Investor Brief: [Fund Name] - [Partner Name]

**Fund Overview:**
- AUM: $[X]
- Stage: [Pre-seed/Seed/A/B]
- Check size: $[X] - $[Y]
- Focus: [Sectors/themes]

**Partner Background:**
- Role: [Partner/GP/Principal]
- Previous: [Operator background if any]
- Focus areas: [What they personally invest in]
- Twitter: [@handle]

**Portfolio Relevance:**
- Similar companies: [Names]
- Potential conflicts: [Names]
- Success stories: [Names]

**Thesis Fit:**
| Your Company | Their Thesis | Fit |
|--------------|--------------|-----|
| [Your attribute] | [What they want] | ✓/✗ |
| [Your attribute] | [What they want] | ✓/✗ |

**Talking Points:**
- Reference: "[Something they wrote/said]"
- Portfolio parallel: "[Similar company they backed]"
- Personal hook: "[Their interest that aligns]"

**Questions They'll Likely Ask:**
1. [Based on their focus]
2. [Based on their background]
3. [Based on portfolio patterns]

**Questions to Ask Them:**
1. "[About their value-add]"
2. "[About portfolio company experience]"

**How to Get Meeting:**
- Warm intro from: [Portfolio founders, mutual connections]
- Cold approach: [Best channel based on their activity]

**Notes:**
[Any other relevant intel]
```

## Using This Research

**In your outreach:**
Reference something specific they said/wrote.

**In the meeting:**
"I noticed you led the investment in [Company]. We're seeing similar dynamics in [your space]."

**In your pitch:**
Emphasize elements that match their thesis.

**In your questions:**
Ask about portfolio companies relevant to you.