How to Find Your Perfect Investor Match With the Axial App

If you want to hook up, there’s Tinder. If you’re a business owner looking for money, there’s Axial: Founders upload their company’s data to Axial’s app, then the startup’s algorithm matches potential investors of all sorts -- who simply swipe right to “like” a company and start a dialogue. Last year, nearly 500 deals were made this way. Should you join? First, just as on Tinder, you need to perfect your profile.

Keep it short.

“Put something smart but short in the subject line,” says Dan Goikhman. For his startup Discover Dandelion, he wrote: “One- button advertising on Facebook and Google for small businesses.” Dozens of investors said “Hi” the first day. He sold to one of them.

Don’t be a tease.

Be specific about what your company is about and what type of financing you’re looking for, and never bluff, says Ami Kassar, CEO of the business loan advisory firm MultiFunding (and an Axial user). Vagueness is a waste of investors’ time.

Court the right suitor.

“You can’t appeal to all investors, so don’t try,” Kassar says. Instead, build a profile to attract a match. “What might be sexy to a venture capitalist who wants high risk, high return might not be to a bank lender who wants low risk, steady returns.”

It’s all about the money.

Investors are most interested in actual revenues, so post detailed finances for the past three years, says Axial CEO Peter Lehrman. And dive deep into your market, describing not just the big picture but the specific category you’re in.