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Fundraising Isn’t a Numbers Game. It’s a Relevancy Game

More pitches feel like progress, but a thousand pitches to investors who don’t fit end the same way as ten.

By Jamal Chraibi, Partner at Pairs · Published November 5, 2026 · 5 min read

The Short Answer

Most founders run a raise like a sales funnel, where more pitches should mean more meetings. That only works if every investor on the list could say yes, and most can’t. A fund with a strict thesis treats a company that is slightly off the same way as one that is way off, and both get a no. A short list of investors who fit will get you further than a long list of names.

$500K

The first check for Ethermed, from one well matched family office.

5 months

later, the same family office led Ethermed’s $3.5M Series A.

3 calls

was all it took for a consumer family office to invest in Laundry Sauce.

Key Takeaways

If the investors don’t fit, ten pitches end the same way as a thousand, without a check.

A fund passes on companies that are close to its thesis, so you need to fit all of it.

The right investor can do more than write a check. Ethermed’s first family office investor introduced a paying customer from its own network, then led its Series A.

Before a name goes on your list, know why that investor would care about you.

Why Do Founders Treat a Raise Like a Numbers Game?

I understand why they do it. A raise looks like sales, and in sales more outreach usually means more deals.

If one in fifty pitches turns into a meeting, you send five hundred, so founders build huge lists, buy databases and send the same deck to every fund that has ever written a seed check.

The difference is that any customer with the problem you solve can buy, while an investor can’t invest outside their own thesis, however good the pitch is.

Exhibit 1, A Short List of Investors Who Fit Beats a Long List of Names. A thousand pitches to investors who don’t fit: $0. Laundry Sauce, a family office that had made its money in consumer: 3 calls, a $1.5M Series A extension. Ethermed, a family office run by entrepreneurs who had built and sold two healthcare businesses: 1 family office, the $3.5M Series A lead, after a $500K check.

At a Glance, Two Ways to Run a Raise. Numbers Game: the list as long as possible; the pitch, one deck for everyone; a yes looks like money; a no costs months of meetings that were never going to work. Relevancy Game: the list short, researched, specific; the pitch, why this investor, for this company; a yes looks like money, plus customers, networks and the next round; a no costs very little, you learn fast.

What Happens When You Pitch Investors Who Don’t Fit?

They pass, and you lose time, which is the one thing you can’t raise more of.

For a seed or Series A company, the real risk is a raise that takes up the whole year. Every meeting with an investor who was never going to invest is time away from customers, hiring and the numbers the right investor wants to see.

Ian Blair, CEO of Laundry Sauce, learned this while the business was doing about $1 million a month, and strong numbers still didn’t make the raise easy.

I thought, we got to a million dollars a month, it should be so easy to raise capital.

Ian Blair

CEO, Laundry Sauce

Ian Blair, CEO (left), and co-founder Robert Cardiff of Laundry Sauce.

The investor that worked was a family office that had made its money building consumer brands, which in hindsight made it the obvious fit from the start. It put $1.5 million into Laundry Sauce’s Series A extension after three calls.

What Does a Relevant Introduction Look Like?

It’s one investor who already understands your market and can help with more than the check.

Ethermed had one paying customer, and investors wanted more proof. Its list was mostly US venture funds, until it met a family office run by entrepreneurs who had built and sold two healthcare businesses.

Exhibit 2, Ethermed: One Introduction, Three Outcomes. One family office introduction: 1, $500K invested in Ethermed’s angel round; 2, a paying customer, as it opened its own network as diligence; 3, the Series A lead, as it led the $3.5M round five months later.

One of the things that we had already discussed internally was how do we get to some of these other networks.

John Cococcia

CFO, Ethermed

How Do You Know If an Investor Is Relevant?

Check that you fit what they invest in, and that they can help with what you need next.

Funds and family offices need different checks. A fund with a strict thesis wants you to fit all of it. A family office sets its own rules, so look at how it made its money, who it works with, its past deals and who it’s connected to.

Exhibit 3, Close to a Fund’s Thesis Still Gets a No. Fits all of it, sector, stage, check size and geography: a real chance. Slightly off, the geography does not fit: a no. Way off, only the sector fits: a no.

Family offices will often take on more risk when they know they can bring that risk down themselves through their own connections.

Before You Add an Investor to Your List, Ask

Do we fit every part of their thesis, from sector and stage to check size and geography?

Have they made money in our market, or backed companies in it?

Who do they know that we need, whether customers, partners or the next round’s investors?

Can we say in one sentence why they would care about us?

The View from the Middle

Most founders I see who stall have sent plenty of pitches, but they’re missing a clear reason why each investor should care, and that reason has to fit in a short email. When founders rewrite our intro note to make it longer, they get fewer introductions, because at 120 words an investor skims it and only reads the first line.

Jamal Chraibi

Partner, Pairs

Sources

Pairs customer stories: Ethermed, Laundry Sauce.

Pairs interviews, 2026: Ian Blair, John Cococcia.

Frequently Asked Questions

Only if every investor on your list could say yes, and that’s rarely true. A fund with a strict thesis passes on anything slightly outside it, however many times you ask.

There’s no right number. A short, researched list of investors who fit your market usually beats a long list of names, because each meeting has a real chance of moving the round.

You fit their thesis and they already understand your market. The best ones can also help with what comes next, like a customer or the next round.

It often leads to more than money. Ethermed’s first family office investor introduced a paying customer, then led its Series A five months later.

Pairs (pairs.ai) is a private capital network that introduces breakout founders to the family offices, VCs and strategic investors who fit their market, through warm introductions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Only if every investor on your list could say yes, and that’s rarely true. A fund with a strict thesis passes on anything slightly outside it, however many times you ask.

There’s no right number. A short, researched list of investors who fit your market usually beats a long list of names, because each meeting has a real chance of moving the round.

You fit their thesis and they already understand your market. The best ones can also help with what comes next, like a customer or the next round.

It often leads to more than money. Ethermed’s first family office investor introduced a paying customer, then led its Series A five months later.

Pairs (pairs.ai) is a private capital network that introduces breakout founders to the family offices, VCs and strategic investors who fit their market, through warm introductions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Only if every investor on your list could say yes, and that’s rarely true. A fund with a strict thesis passes on anything slightly outside it, however many times you ask.

There’s no right number. A short, researched list of investors who fit your market usually beats a long list of names, because each meeting has a real chance of moving the round.

You fit their thesis and they already understand your market. The best ones can also help with what comes next, like a customer or the next round.

It often leads to more than money. Ethermed’s first family office investor introduced a paying customer, then led its Series A five months later.

Pairs (pairs.ai) is a private capital network that introduces breakout founders to the family offices, VCs and strategic investors who fit their market, through warm introductions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Only if every investor on your list could say yes, and that’s rarely true. A fund with a strict thesis passes on anything slightly outside it, however many times you ask.

There’s no right number. A short, researched list of investors who fit your market usually beats a long list of names, because each meeting has a real chance of moving the round.

You fit their thesis and they already understand your market. The best ones can also help with what comes next, like a customer or the next round.

It often leads to more than money. Ethermed’s first family office investor introduced a paying customer, then led its Series A five months later.

Pairs (pairs.ai) is a private capital network that introduces breakout founders to the family offices, VCs and strategic investors who fit their market, through warm introductions.

About This Piece

Written by Jamal Chraibi, Partner at Pairs, with examples from the customer stories at pairs.ai/customers.

About Pairs

Pairs (pairs.ai) is a private capital network founded by Vincent Possehl and Jamal Chraibi. We introduce breakout founders to the family offices, VCs and strategic investors who know their market. pairs.ai