VC deal sourcing is the one part of investing where the usual direction is inverted. A buyout fund can approach an owner who was not thinking of selling. A venture fund mostly cannot manufacture a company that is not raising, so the work is being the fund that founders and other investors think of when a round starts. That is a slower and more public activity than searching, and it has a number that says whether it is working.
The best rounds are short and invitation-shaped
A competitive round can be decided in days among investors the founder already knew of. A fund that hears about it through a general channel is usually late, and being late is not recoverable with better diligence. That is the whole argument for spending on being findable rather than on searching harder.
Being findable is mostly other investors
Co-investors send more deals than founders do, because they see more and because a syndicate is easier to fill with somebody known. That makes the co-investor graph a sourcing asset rather than a curiosity, and it is the record most tools have nowhere to keep.
Published work is the second channel and it lags
Writing that founders in a sector find useful produces inbound for years and produces nothing for the first eighteen months, which is why it is under-invested in. The test is whether somebody running one of these companies would send it to a peer, not whether other investors liked it.
The number that says it is working
The share of opportunities that arrived without you asking, tracked over time. It is one field at entry and it is the only honest measure of findability. A fund whose inbound share is flat after two years of publishing has learned something worth knowing early.
Questions people ask about vc deal sourcing
Why is venture sourcing different?
A fund cannot manufacture a company that is not raising, so the work is being thought of when a round starts rather than searching.
Who sends the most deals?
Other investors, usually. They see more, and a syndicate is easier to fill with somebody known.
How do we know it is working?
Track the share of opportunities that arrived without you asking. It is one field at entry and the only honest measure of findability.