The CFO Academy · Course 6 of 6

How to Find and Pitch to Investors

Sourcing investors is a research job, not a mailing list. Most founders start pitching before they have worked out who they should be pitching to.

Mohamed Chaudry FCCA · Operating CFO · 25 years · $300M+ raised · 250+ decks reviewed

How do you find the right investors for your business?

Work out what kind of investor your business actually suits — by stage, sector, cheque size and what they are trying to earn — then research individuals rather than firms, and reach them through someone they already trust. Volume is not the strategy. A founder who approaches twenty well-matched investors properly will do better than one who emails two hundred, and will still have their reputation intact afterwards.

Different investors want different things

Angels, seed funds, growth equity, family offices, strategics and lenders are not variations on one buyer. They are underwriting different risks, over different timeframes, for different returns. The same business is a strong fit for one and an obvious pass for another, and that is a fact about the match, not a verdict on the business.

Founders who skip this end up reading a string of passes as evidence that the business is weak, when the actual signal is that they were in the wrong rooms. Knowing which rooms to be in is most of the job.

Warm introductions are a finite resource

A warm introduction works because someone the investor trusts is spending a little of that trust on you. It is the single highest-conversion route in fundraising, and it is the one founders burn fastest.

The expensive mistake is using introductions early, while the deck and the model are still being finished. That does not just cost you the meeting — it costs you the introduction, because the same person cannot credibly reintroduce you in three months. The founders who raise well spend their first weeks on preparation and their introductions last.

A no is not always about the business. Wrong stage, wrong sector, fund already committed, a portfolio conflict you could not see. The useful question after a pass is not “what is wrong with us” but “was that investor ever a real fit” — and that question can only be answered if you did the matching work before you approached them.

The pitch is three documents, not one

You need a version that works in thirty seconds, one that works in three minutes, and one that works in an hour. They are not the same thing shortened. The short version exists to earn the long one, which means it has to carry the single most compelling fact about the business and nothing else.

Most founders have only ever prepared the long one, so when the short moment arrives — a conference, an introduction, a question in a lift — they compress the full pitch badly under pressure and lose the opening.

What happens after someone says yes

A yes is the beginning of a negotiation, not the end of one. Terms, structure, what the money actually buys and what it costs you in control are decided after the enthusiasm and often quickly. Founders who have not thought about terms before the term sheet arrives negotiate from whatever was put in front of them, and they live with those decisions for years.

What this course covers

Course 6 of The CFO Academy covers the whole process, from working out who your investors are to signing the agreement.

Module 1Understanding investorsThe types of investor, what each is really trying to achieve, and what they look for in a business.

Module 2Sourcing investorsNetworking and building relationships, and researching your way to the investors who are an actual fit rather than a list.

Module 3Crafting the pitchThe key elements of a pitch, and the dos and don’ts that decide how it lands.

Module 4Communication and negotiationHow to communicate with investors through a process, and how to negotiate terms rather than accept them.

Module 5Closing the dealUnderstanding the terms of an investment and what each one costs you, and finalising the agreement.

Module 6The elevator and three-minute pitchWhy the short pitch matters, what it has to contain, and how to build and deliver one that earns the longer conversation.

It finishes with an action plan you complete against your own business, not a generic template.

Where it sits in the Academy

The CFO Academy is six courses sold as one programme with lifetime access. They build on each other, and this one comes last because it is where everything the earlier courses produced finally gets used.

01Funding & Investment Readinessfree, in full
02Investment Teasers & Financial Communication
03Business Planning & Commercial Strategy
04Pitch Decks & Financial Storytelling
05Financial Modelling & Projections
06Investors & Capital Raisingthis course

Course 1 is genuinely free and complete, with no card details and no upgrade wall. If you have not worked through it, start there — it is the fastest way to judge whether the teaching is worth your time before you pay for anything.

Common questions

How do I find the right investors for my business?+

Start from what your business actually is — stage, sector, cheque size, geography — and work out which kinds of investor underwrite that. Then research individuals rather than firms, because funds do not make decisions, partners do. A shortlist of twenty genuine fits approached properly beats a list of two hundred.

Is a warm introduction really necessary?+

It is not mandatory, but it converts far better than anything else, because someone the investor trusts is vouching for you. The mistake is spending introductions before your materials are ready. That costs you the meeting and the introduction, since the same person cannot credibly reintroduce you a few months later.

How long should an elevator pitch be?+

Thirty seconds for the shortest version and around three minutes for the fuller one. They are not the long pitch compressed; the short version exists only to earn the longer conversation, so it should carry the single most compelling fact about the business and leave the rest.

What happens after an investor says yes?+

The negotiation starts. Terms, structure, valuation, control and what the money is actually buying are agreed after the enthusiasm, often quickly. Founders who have not thought about terms before a term sheet lands tend to accept what is in front of them, and those decisions last for years.

Can I take this course on its own?+

The six courses are sold together as one Academy bundle with lifetime access, because each one builds on the last into a single pathway. Course 1, Funding and Investment Readiness, is free and complete on its own, so you can judge the teaching before buying anything.

Learn to raise from the right investors

Investors & Capital Raising is Course 6 of The CFO Academy: six courses, one payment, lifetime access, from $199. Not ready to pay for anything yet? Course 1 is free and complete.

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