You’ve built a high quality business that speaks for itself. Your customers love you. Your employees are willing to burn the midnight oil for you. Your Indian VCs couldn’t be happier. Now it’s time to break into Tier 1 VC circles in the Bay. But existing playbooks just won’t cut it. What do you do?
Here’s Vijay Rayapati’s secrets to raising like an insider.
Today's hello could be tomorrow's term sheet
[ ] Say yes to intros and coffee chats, even when you're not raising
[ ] Be responsive: a “not now” is better than silence
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Vijay played the long game, he met with investors at coffee shops, the sidelines of customer events, and investor dinners, even when fundraising wasn’t on the table. But he was intentional "If you take every meeting, you’ll burn a quarter of your time. Be selective.”
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Show up like a local, even if you’re 8000 miles away
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Vijay spends the first two weeks of every month in the U.S., meeting at least two investors each trip. And between visits? He keeps the momentum warm: with updates, dinners, and check-ins.
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The Bay doesn’t run on intros, it runs on signal