Instructions for America: how to write letters and talk about money so that they are given

Co-founder of the company LinguaTrip.com Marina Moghilko has been living in the USA for three years and almost every day communicates with local investors.

In his article for publication VC She told how to write letters, negotiate and talk about money with the Americans so that they were given.

Cool letters

To meet with the investor from Silicon Valley, a personal meeting is not needed. Just send him a letter. But an email is only a letter, it does not mean that the investor will immediately give money.

When we launched fundraising with LinguaTrip.com director Dmitry Pistolyako, we searched for email addresses of investors on LinkedIn. They wrote to the heads of funds that invested in Apple, Facebook, Airbnb and other companies. Several people answered.

For example, Joel Cutler from General Catalyst said that the project was cool, but he could not invest in us at an early stage, and asked to send updates. Arthur Kosten from Booking.com called and listened to our development ideas for an hour. Darren Huston from Priceline.com has been in LinkedIn with us for several days and has given advice on entering new markets.

When I write to investors for the first time, I try to follow five rules:

Write shortly. In three to five sentences I tell what the company does, give statistics and tell what we need.

A cold letter that Marina sent to investors.
Photo: Marina Mogilko

Reinforce words with data. I always give numbers or tables. For example, when the startup figures were small, I reported how many times the revenue increased in a month or half a year.

Do not talk about investments right away. Usually I ask for advice, evaluation of a startup or recommend people who might be interested in cooperation. If the person himself wants to invest in the project, he will offer to meet.

Reply to emails on the same day. In Silicon Valley decided to disassemble work mail every day. If you do not respond within 24 hours, you may be considered insufficiently interested or optional.

Put a selling signature. Even the signature at the end of the letter can influence the decision of the investor. In it, I tell interesting facts about myself that are out of place in the letter itself. For example, I include there sign publications and references in ratings.

Signature to the letters of Marina Mogilko.
Photo: Marina Mogilko

Personal meeting

Large investors and funds usually make appointments in the office, private ones in a cafe or somewhere in the city.

Office meetings are more formal, and there may be several. Sometimes we had to give a presentation first for the assistants to the head of the company, and the next time - to the investor himself.

More often, we meet with investors in an informal setting - over coffee or lunch. We talk about the project and the main tasks that we want to solve with the help of financing, and simply show our metrics on a laptop or tablet.

There are several proven ways to make a good impression:

Agree to early meetings. I have been scheduled for meetings on the 7-8 in the morning, this is common practice in San Francisco. Many businessmen get up in 5-6 hours to catch more in a day. If you are ready to come early, then you are yours.

Do not specify the time before. In Silicon Valley it is not customary to call up in the evening to find out if everything is in force for tomorrow. Even if the meeting is in a month, it will be added to the schedule and will be waiting for you exactly at the appointed time.

Do not wear a suit. A person in a strict suit and tie is more likely to be mistaken for a personal driver than a businessman. I wear trousers and a shirt for formal meetings with investors, and jeans and a T-shirt or sweater for informal ones.

Smile, look into the eyes and firmly shake hands. Here they appreciate friendliness and openness and do not understand the seriousness with which we are accustomed to doing business. I, too, always firmly shake hands, because for women this rule is no exception.

Speak English confidently. Start-ups from all over the world come to San Francisco, so foreign accent and small mistakes are not terrible. More importantly, if you speak confidently and fully understand the interlocutor.

How to understand investor

Sometimes it is difficult to understand what the investor actually wrote or said. For example, they can write that your project is promising and will stop responding to emails.

We had the same - we were glad when we received answers from the first potential investors. They gave us time, gave advice and it seemed that they were about to invest in the project. But that did not happen.

Later I understood what it means and how to react to it.

No criticism. In Silicon Valley, it is not customary to criticize startups, if they did not ask for this. Therefore, I do not hope to receive investments after enthusiastic comments in the mail or at meetings, but I am waiting for a concrete answer.

Either yes or nothing. If an investor wants to invest, he speaks about it in plain text and asks the lawyers for the project data. All other response options mean "no" or "not now."

He can return at any time. I received answers to some letters a year later, because the investor heard that we grew up and wanted to learn new metrics. It is not considered impolite here: if a person cannot say “yes” right now, he “leaves the door open” for further cooperation.

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