How to find investors who fit your startup
Build an investor shortlist around stage, sector, check size, geography, and recent activity, with a practical fit scorecard and research workflow.
Read the guideFit before outreach
AI investor matching for startups
Founder Relay turns your company profile into a ranked investor shortlist. Each candidate comes with a fit rationale so you can spend your fundraising time on relevant conversations.
Start with your actual raise
Describe your company, customer, traction, stage, target raise, and geography. Upload a pitch deck to help the AI extract the company story and evidence for investor messaging. Review the analysis before using it; AI can misread a slide or miss context.
The matching workflow compares this profile with investor intelligence. A fund's prestige is not a substitute for the right mandate, check range, or stage.
Get a shortlist with a reason behind each candidate
Prioritize matches using stage, sector, check size, geography, activity, and capital signals. Read the rationale and risk checks beside a score. A matching score is a prioritization aid, not an estimated probability of investment.
- Priority: a strong fit worth researching now.
- Good fit: relevant, with questions to resolve.
- Nurture: potentially relevant after another milestone.
- Pass: a mismatch that should not consume your first outreach batch.
Validate the match before writing the email
Open a research brief to check current mandate, relevant partner, portfolio overlap, and recent public activity. Missing or contradictory evidence should lower confidence rather than be replaced with an invented fact.
Prepare a contextual draft, review it, and send it from your own inbox. Export the report to retain your shortlist and fit notes outside Founder Relay.
Straight answers
Frequently asked questions
Is this just a contact list?
No. Matching prioritizes candidates against your startup profile and gives you fit reasons and risk checks. Contact information and public records still need validation before outreach.
Does a high score mean an investor will fund me?
No. A score helps prioritize research. An investor's decision depends on their current mandate, your company, diligence, and factors public data may not reveal.
Can I try the workflow before paying?
Yes. The free preview includes ranked preview matches and local draft previews. Paid packages add live research and larger work limits.