How to Get Investors to Hunt You Down
In today’s environment, capital is searching for the right opportunities. The founders who position themselves correctly will find that investors are not distant targets but active pursuers.
Photo by RDNE
Entrepreneurs often spend years chasing investors, pitching to rooms filled with sceptical faces, and sending endless decks that go unanswered. However, some companies and founders seem to experience the opposite: investors find them, approach them, and compete to get a stake in their business. This is not luck. It is the result of deliberate choices in strategy, visibility, and credibility.
In today’s competitive markets, capital is abundant, but attention is scarce. Venture capital firms, private equity managers, and angel investors see thousands of pitches every year. What separates the businesses they pursue from those they ignore is not always the size of the idea—it is the clarity of execution, the strength of positioning, and the signals of trust that the founders send into the market.
Investors are drawn to solutions that address clear market needs. Businesses that grow fastest are those that solve problems people face daily. In Nigeria, fintech firms like Paystack and Flutterwave attracted investor attention not because they had the flashiest branding but because they addressed payment barriers that affected millions. Stripe eventually acquired Paystack in a deal reported at over $200 million.
When a company demonstrates traction in solving a genuine problem, investors are the ones who reach out. No amount of cold emails can match the magnetism of a business that customers already trust and use.
The quickest way to get noticed is by showing evidence of demand. This can be through user growth, revenues, or even strong community adoption. Investors rely on signals that prove a business is more than an idea.
Andela began in Lagos with a model of training software developers and connecting them to global clients. Within months, the company’s placement numbers attracted international press and major backers like the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Their growth was the pitch.
Entrepreneurs who wait until they have perfect systems often miss this stage. Early traction, even if modest, is a magnet. It shows investors that the market is responding.
Investors, like customers, follow reputation. A founder with a strong brand—built through thought leadership, speaking engagements, or visible partnerships—naturally attracts interest. Personal credibility often translates into investor trust.
Ngozi Dozie and his team at Carbon, a Nigerian digital bank, understood this early. By actively engaging in industry discussions, publishing insights on financial inclusion, and maintaining transparency about their journey, they positioned themselves as credible players in Africa’s fintech ecosystem. Investors often prefer to approach founders who already look like leaders in their sector rather than chase unknown names.
Warm introductions carry weight. Investors are more likely to pursue founders who are recommended by trusted networks. Participating in accelerators, incubators, and professional associations creates pathways for this.
Y Combinator’s support of Nigerian startups such as Kobo360 and Flutterwave was not just about funding; it was about signalling. Once YC’s network endorsed them, other investors quickly followed. Being part of respected ecosystems turns founders into visible players whom investors seek out.
Partnerships with corporates can have a similar effect. Startups that secure deals with established companies demonstrate validation, making investors more eager to join.
Investors are constantly scanning for businesses they can understand quickly. A confused pitch will not be chased. The story of the company must be simple enough to repeat but strong enough to inspire.
Founders who succeed often combine clarity with ambition: they articulate the problem, the solution, and the market opportunity in plain language. Flutterwave’s pitch was not built on complex jargon but on the simple promise of making payments seamless across Africa. That clarity made it easy for investors to spread the story.
Beyond growth and story, investors look for evidence that a business is managed with discipline. Transparency in financials, clear governance structures, and accountability practices send powerful signals.
Startups that ignore this often struggle. Even with growth, a lack of discipline repels investors. On the other hand, companies that maintain clean records, audited accounts, and responsible reporting create the impression of reliability. Investors prefer to chase deals where risks are minimised.
The most persuasive signal for investors is a customer base that advocates for a product. Word-of-mouth validation travels fast, and investors listen when customers speak.
This was central to Paystack’s rise. Its early customers—small businesses and e-commerce platforms—spoke openly about how the service transformed their operations. By the time investors looked closer, the market itself had already validated the company.
For any founder, making customers love the product is the surest way to make investors curious.
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