OpenVC<\/a> \u2014 especially helpful for early-stage founders trying to understand investor focus areas and check sizes<\/p>\n Refresh Miami Dashboard<\/a> \u2014 our ecosystem dashboard lets you explore startups, investors, and ecosystem players to better understand who is active in Miami tech and who may be relevant to your space<\/p>\n LinkedIn<\/a> \u2014 useful for understanding relationship overlap and finding warm paths into firms<\/p>\n Don\u2019t let lack of access stop you.<\/p>\n The goal isn\u2019t a perfect list. The goal is a thoughtful one.<\/p>\n Even 20 to 40 well-researched investors is infinitely better than spraying hundreds of random emails.<\/p>\n 4. Ask other founders (especially recently funded ones)<\/p>\n This one is underrated.<\/p>\n Founders who recently raised often know:<\/p>\n Who actually showed up prepared<\/p>\n Which firms moved quickly<\/p>\n Which investors were helpful vs. performative<\/p>\n Who is actively deploying capital right now<\/p>\n A warm founder reference can dramatically increase your odds of getting attention.<\/p>\n 5. Build relationships, not just a target list<\/p>\n This is one of the most underrated fundraising advantages.<\/p>\n As you research companies similar to yours, don\u2019t just study who funded them. Get to know the founders.<\/p>\n Why?<\/p>\n Because founder-to-investor intros can be incredibly powerful.<\/p>\n In my experience at Florida Funders, introductions from our portfolio founders were prioritized above virtually any other source.<\/p>\n Why?<\/p>\n Because there was built-in trust.<\/p>\n A founder that got a check from an investor knows the process and level of diligence necessary to get that check. They\u2019re effectively saying:<\/p>\n \u201cI know what it takes to get a check from you, and I think this person has what it takes.\u201d<\/p>\n That signal matters.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re building in fintech, climate, healthcare, AI, proptech \u2014 whatever it may be \u2014 start building authentic relationships with founders in adjacent companies and your broader ecosystem.<\/p>\n Ask thoughtful questions. Learn from them. Support them.<\/p>\n And importantly: Think about how you can be helpful to them, too.<\/p>\n Relationships work best when they\u2019re reciprocal.<\/p>\n Maybe it\u2019s sharing a customer lead, making a talent introduction, amplifying their launch, sharing a relevant resource, or simply showing up consistently and being supportive.<\/p>\n The goal shouldn\u2019t be:<\/p>\n \u201cHow do I get something from this person?\u201d<\/p>\n It should be:<\/p>\n \u201cHow do I build a genuine relationship over time?\u201d<\/p>\n Over time, if there\u2019s genuine alignment, an introduction to one of their investors can go a very long way.<\/p>\n One important caveat: Don\u2019t meet a founder once and immediately ask for an intro to their VC.\u00a0<\/p>\n Relationships are built, not extracted.<\/p>\n People are far more likely to open doors for founders who have invested in a real relationship versus someone treating them like a transactional shortcut.<\/p>\n Start building these relationships early, way before you need to fundraise, so when it\u2019s time to make the ask, you\u2019ve built up enough trust and goodwill to make them feel comfortable.\u00a0<\/p>\n 6. Work backward from your network<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve built your list, then scour your network to identify who is connected to them.<\/p>\n Now when you reach out, your ask goes from:<\/p>\n \u201cDo you know any VCs that I should talk to?\u201d<\/p>\n To:<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m building X, we\u2019ve grown to Y traction, and I think [VC Name] could be a strong fit given their investments in A and B and focus on C. I noticed you know them \u2014 would you be open to passing along an email to see if they\u2019d have interest in chatting?\u201d<\/p>\n Notice the difference.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve:<\/p>\n Done the research<\/p>\n Made the ask easy<\/p>\n Shown preparation<\/p>\n Reduced the mental load<\/p>\n Demonstrated intentionality<\/p>\n The bottom line<\/p>\n People generally want to help founders.<\/p>\n But the easiest way to get help is to make helping easy.<\/p>\n Do your homework.<\/p>\n Be specific.<\/p>\n Respect people\u2019s time and relationships.<\/p>\n And remember: A thoughtful ask doesn\u2019t just increase your chances of getting an intro \u2014 it signals that you\u2019re the kind of founder investors want to back.<\/p>\n READ MORE IN REFRESH MIAMI:<\/p>\n Maria Derchi Russo is a leading voice in Miami\u2019s tech and startup ecosystem. As CEO of Refresh Miami, she has spent over a decade growing the organization from a grassroots meetup into the city\u2019s premier tech media publication and community. Maria is also the Founder of Women in Miami Tech and host of the Miami Tech Pod. She formerly spent 7 years working in venture capital at Florida Funders and TheVentureCity.<\/p>\n ![\"Maria](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/maria-derchi-russo-headshot-full.png\")
<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/a>Latest posts by Maria Derchi Russo (see all<\/a>) \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How to identify the right investors, ask for warm intros the right way, and increase your odds of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":286158,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-286157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/286158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}