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Recently, I heard about Fred Wilson and I wondered who he was. He is a New York-based venture capitalist and a very famous blogger. Wilson is the co-founder of Union Square Ventures, a venture capital firm with investments in Web 2.0 companies such as Twitter, del.icio.us, FeedBurner, Boxee, foursquare, tumblr, zynga, among many others.

Wilson has a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

1. Know the sweet spot. VCs have types of companies and industries they tend to invest in, as do partners. If you do not match their investment criteria or fit into their area of expertise, you need to find another VC. No matter how good the idea. Do your homework, just as you would do before a sales call. Find out what they like to invest in and why.
2. Reach out and get connected. Your company’s ability to communicate with the outside world is directly related to a VCs willingness to fund you. Get the word out about your personal brand and the company’s efforts and manage the information about you from the start. This means more networking, attending conferences, engaging industry leaders, blogging, tweeting and generally be active in the social media world. Your ability to network and publicize your business is directly related to how well you will be able to sell your product. And remember, VCs view cold-calling as a sign of weakness. Emailing a partner directly with no introduction from a connected contact just screams “desperate.” Navigate to a strong, warm introduction every time.
3. Think like a risk manager. Every salesperson will tell you: sales 101 is getting inside the head of your target customer. For a VC, a funding decision revolves around minimizing risk and maximizing profit. Don’t make them uncover the risks. Feature them as part of your pitch and lay out your plan for managing the risks. Provide realistic assumptions—nothing kills a deal faster than when a VC rolls their eyes at the hockey stick charts that promise great profit margin than a monopoly like Microsoft! Project the image of a confident executor, not a dreamer.
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