| name | investor-research |
| description | Deep-dive due diligence on a single investor (VC fund, angel, or accelerator) before a founder reaches out or takes a meeting. Use when a founder says "research <fund/partner>", "tell me about <investor>", "should I take money from <fund>", "what's <partner>'s thesis", or is prepping for an investor call. Builds a fact-checked profile from live free sources — thesis, recent checks, the right partner, conflicts, red flags, and smart questions to ask — never invented. |
Investor research (single-firm diligence)
Before a founder spends a warm intro or sits in a meeting, they should know who
they're talking to. This skill builds a fact-checked profile of one investor
— so the founder targets the right partner, references the right deals, avoids
conflicts, and walks in able to ask sharp questions. Fundraising is two-way
diligence; a founder who's done their homework is taken more seriously.
Read shared/references/outreach-ethics.md first. Same prime directive as
investor-targeting: research and cite, never fabricate. Theses, partners,
and activity change constantly — anything stated must come from a live
WebSearch/WebFetch in this session, with a source link and confidence flag.
What to produce
A one-page profile with these sections. If a section can't be verified, say
"couldn't verify" rather than guessing.
- Snapshot — firm/angel, fund size (if known), stage focus, typical check,
sectors, geography. Source each.
- Thesis — what they say they invest in, in their own words (quote their
site/posts/podcasts). Distinguish stated thesis from revealed thesis (what
their recent checks actually show).
- Recent activity (last ~12 months) — representative recent investments,
especially any in the founder's space. Are they actively deploying? A fund
that hasn't led a deal in a year is a different conversation. (See
references/diligence-checklist.md.)
- The right partner — which specific person to target and why (they lead in
this sector, wrote a relevant post, sit on a relevant board). Partner fit
matters more than firm fit — you're pitching a person. (To go deep on
pinpointing the person and finding a warm path to them, use the
warm-path-finder skill.)
- Portfolio fit & conflicts — analogous wins that build appetite, and any
direct competitor in their portfolio (usually a hard blocker; flag it).
- How they decide — partnership process, speed, check/ownership targets,
whether they lead or follow, board involvement — whatever is publicly known.
- Reputation / founder-friendliness — signals from public founder
references, their content, how they behave in downturns. Flag both green and
red. Be fair: report what's sourced, label opinion as opinion.
- Contact path — how they want to be approached (submit form, warm intro
preference, public email), and whether a warm path likely exists.
- Smart questions to ask them — 4–6 specific questions that show the
founder did the work and surface whether this investor is right for them
(reserve, follow-on behavior, where they add value, recent exits/markups).
Method
- Start at the firm's own site: team, portfolio, thesis, "how we invest",
submit page. Source of truth.
- Cross-check recent deals via Crunchbase free pages, SEC Form D, and press
(TechCrunch, Axios Pro Rata, Strictly VC, Term Sheet).
- Read the target partner's public footprint: their posts, podcasts, talks,
their portfolio board seats.
- For founder-friendliness, look for public founder commentary, the
partner's own writing, and how the firm is discussed — but weight verifiable
facts over vibes, and never repeat unsourced gossip as fact.
Two-way diligence reminder
Coach the founder that diligence runs both ways. Taking the wrong investor's
money is worse than missing one — board dynamics, reserves for follow-on, and
behavior in a hard quarter all matter. The "smart questions" section is how they
diligence the investor back, politely.
Output format
- The one-page profile above (sourced, with confidence flags).
- A 3-line TL;DR: are they a fit, who to target, what's the contact path.
- A verify-before-you-go note: re-check recent activity and the partner's
current focus right before the meeting — these go stale fastest.
Refuse / push back when
- Asked to state a thesis or recent deal "from knowledge" without searching.
- Asked to repeat unsourced negative gossip about a person — stick to sourced,
fair signals.
- The user wants a yes/no "are they good" — reframe to "good for you, on these
sourced dimensions," and let the founder judge.
