Stop Asking for Warm Intros (They Come Last) | Startup Fundraising Mistakes

Warm introductions are the best way to get investor meetings. But asking for them too early can actually hurt your raise. Most founders treat warm intros as step one of startup fundraising: find someone who knows an investor, get an introduction, get the meeting. But that's completely backwards. In this episode, I explain why warm introductions usually come last in the fundraising process, why asking an investor who just passed on your deal to introduce you sends a terrible signal, and what to do instead. I also cover the "adverse selection" problem (why investors assume you're sending them someone else's rejects) and why your earliest committed investors are the ones who will generate the most effective warm introductions for you. If you've been burning through your network trying to get intros before you have any investors on board, this episode will change how you approach investor outreach. #startupfundraising #angelinvestors #warmintroductions Chapters: 0:00 Warm intros are backwards for most founders 0:27 Welcome to Feel the Boot 0:52 Why asking for intros after a "no" fails 1:45 Reputation cost of lukewarm introductions 2:23 The adverse selection problem 2:50 The one exception 3:40 Who can actually give you warm intros 4:25 Why fundraising accelerates at the end 5:15 Focus on cold outreach first 6:30 Make sure you're investor-ready 7:00 What to watch next Links: Blog post: https://ftb.bz/132B Podcast: https://ftb.bz/podcast Free Startup Fundraising Toolkit: https://ftb.bz/raise-yt About Feel the Boot: Feel the Boot is the science of startups. I'm Lance Cottrell — exited founder, active angel investor, and startup advisor. I help first-time founders navigate fundraising, strategy, and product so you can skip the expensive mistakes. Subscribe for weekly episodes on startup fundraising, growth, and survival. Lance Cottrell has been an active startup advisor and startup mentor for over a decade. He has helped countless startups navigate the key decisions of their journey, like when to take venture capital investment and negotiating term sheets. He works with many companies in accelerators like Y Combinator and Founder Institute. He provides help with startup funding including raising venture capital and angel investment. He can help you achieve liquidity for your company at a high valuation. Feel the Boot is a startup vlog of tips and advice for early-stage founders. Warm introductions can significantly boost your chances of securing investor meetings, but many founders approach them incorrectly. This episode details why warm introductions typically come last in the fundraising process, rather than serving as the initial step for startup funding. Learn the right strategy for effective investor pitch and raising capital.