The best way to start is to focus on founders and executive teams at startups that fit your ideal portfolio. Go after companies matching your best investments or your dream investment profile first. Leadsforge makes this easy—just enter your criteria and Leadsforge will help you discover lookalike startups similar to those you're most excited to work with. Here is why: By targeting founders who look just like your “ideal founder profile,” you increase the likelihood of meaningful conversations, warmer responses, and higher relevance for your outreach.

Want to reach new prospects fast? A smart approach is to focus on the followers of your competitor VC firms or similar investors. All you need to do is provide the company name and website, and Leadsforge will identify the right contacts from those followers for you. Here is why: Followers of competitor firm pages are often startup founders or decision-makers already interested in investment opportunities, making them more receptive to your outreach. Share their LinkedIn company page link in Leadsforge and it will find them for you.

Structure your outreach by segmenting prospects: 1) By funding stage: Pre-seed, Seed, or Series A founders 2) By industry: AI/ML, FinTech, SaaS, Climate/Energy 3) By geography: US (Bay Area/NYC), EU (London/Berlin), SEA (Singapore) 4) By traction signal: companies with recent funding rounds, high-growth hiring, or accelerator graduates Here is why: Segmenting prospects makes your messages more specific and increases response rates since you can tailor your offer to what matters most to each segment.

Take a vertical approach for even deeper targeting. For example: AI/ML startups in the Bay Area at Seed stage, or FinTech founders in Europe who just finished an accelerator. Start with a narrow slice and learn which verticals respond best before expanding further. Here is why: Focusing tightly by vertical helps you craft sharper, more relevant hooks—vital for VCs looking to engage busy founders.