How did you raise money as a first-time founder?

Question

One of the most challenging things for first-time founders is getting connected to the right investors. If you don't have a network yet, sending out cold emails and not getting any responses back can become quite frustrating.How was your experience? What tips would you share?

b20000 · Accepted Answer

after years of trying to raise i came to the conclusion you need to network and need to do that fulltime. as an engineer or developer you have no time for that. also, people want to invest in a certain type of person. someone that looks like their younger self who they can control.
i have seen investors invest in competitors who have shittier tech than we have, and who are years behind. but they got the money because the founder was the typical likable popular guy next door even though he has zero hard tech skills and no clue about how to build something truly great. there is a reason that 9 out of 10 VC funded startups fold.
as an immigrant i can say that you are up against this bullshit. even if you make it into the ivy league, the kid next to you is an american who’s daddy is friends with such and such and he is going to get funded even though daddy paid for college while you got there because of top notch grades. it is really not a meritocracy.