Value-Add

Help an investor provides to a company beyond capital, such as introductions, expertise, recruiting support or references.

Example

An investor introducing a founder to two potential enterprise customers.

Important

Founders tend to value specific, requested help and responsiveness more than general advice, which can cost them time.

Related terms

• Double Opt-In Introduction — An introduction made only after both people have agreed they want to be connected.
• Investor Update — A periodic report from a company to its investors covering key figures, progress, problems and requests for help.

Lessons that explain it

• Founders send the best deals to investors who treated them well — Founders are the most valuable part of an investor's network. Responding quickly, saying no clearly, being useful without being asked for credit and behaving well when things go wrong earns their referrals. (9 min)
• Being findable and useful beats hunting — Proprietary deal flow comes from relationships and reputation built before you need them. Writing publicly, helping operators and being easy to reach compound over years in a way that outreach campaigns do not. (11 min)
• The most useful help answers a question the founder is actually asking — Investor help works best when it responds to a founder's stated needs. Advice that is not requested often costs founders time and attention, even when it is well meant. (9 min)
• Answering quickly and making good introductions are worth more than most strategy advice — For most investors, the highest-value contributions are cheap to give: fast replies, relevant introductions made carefully, and being reliable when a founder needs a reference or a decision. (10 min)
• Every request an investor makes is a cost the company pays — Custom reports, frequent calls, unsolicited questions and conflicting advice from many investors can take a meaningful share of a founder's time. Good investors minimise the work they create. (9 min)
• Recruiting help is the most requested and most valuable thing investors can offer — Founders consistently rank hiring as their hardest problem. Investors who make relevant introductions, take reference calls and help close candidates provide help that is specific, asked for and hard to buy. (10 min)

All 578 terms in the Investing glossary