How Do I Approach Someone Without It Looking Like an Official Ask?
Send a principal's proxy. I will handle it.
The moment you reach out yourself, it is on the record. An investor wonders why you are asking. A competitor hears you are interested. Someone you fell out with assumes you have come to make peace, or to make trouble.
When I make the approach, it stays a conversation. I say I am acting for someone, I ask what you want asked, and I listen. Nothing is committed and nothing is announced.
Where this helps
- You would like to know if an investor would take a meeting before you ask for one
- You are wondering whether a company would consider a partnership or a sale
- You want to reopen things with an ex-co-founder or a client you lost, and you cannot tell how they would react
What you get back
An honest account of how it went: what they said, how they said it, and what is still unclear. Then you decide whether to make it official.
Things people ask
Is this not a bit underhand?
No. I always tell people I am acting for someone. I never lie about who I am, and if someone says no, I do not go back.
What if they ask who you represent?
I will tell them you have asked to stay private. If that ends the conversation, you will hear that too.
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