- Short Description
- A wonderful way to find high-quality referrals is from existing portfolio companies. In the Founder-as-Customer Frame, these are the word-of-mouth leads that are so valuable to a business.
- Benefits
- High Quality Leads: Your current portfolio is more likely to associate with high potential founders. (And if for some reason they are not, you are in a good position to judge that.) Your portfolio company management will want to protect the relationship with you. They will avoid introducing low-quality opportunities.
- Warm Leads: Founders who you meet this way will be more likely to want to work with you. Existing portfolio company founders will tell them about the firm. If they are not pleased with the relationship they are unlikely to refer. So, the referrals you do get will be from founders who are happy with the firm and that will come through.
- Trade-offs
- Reinforce Existing Networks: You may only receive leads from existing professionals, schools, or other networks. Depending on the nature of your portfolio, referrals from existing founders may not increase diversity.
- Create Obligations: A referral from an existing portfolio company founder may create an obligation to spend time with the inbound company. As soon as you realize it is not a fit, telling the portfolio company founder reduces this obligation.
