Here is some short advice for founders: I see this happening every week or so. Do not use your Gmail to communicate with investors! You lose the opportunity of advertising your startup on the URL, look professional, and mainly, you miss giving the investor a chance to dig deeper if he chooses to do so.
Before looking at a deck, if you cold email me with something interesting, the first reaction to my flow is to go take a look at your website.
I validate every email via Rapportive, so generally, I'm always able to put a face to a name if/when this happens and the person on the other side has their email connected to their LinkedIn account.
As an active early-stage investor (we typically sign one term sheet every 2 weeks) I am in talks with over 60 companies on any given week. This would make life easier and make founders look better.
Exception goes for founders that have a personal relationship with the investor, so he is familiar with the person and project/business they are working on.
ps — I am just talking about @gmail addresses, not Google Apps. Thanks for pointing that out Adolfo Builes.
pss — Gmail is still the best email host out there due to its search capability, plug-in ecosystem, and spam filter. Too bad it's so slow.
As I read Nassim Taleb's Skin in the Game, I ponder about the need to have skin in the game to build something valuable, enduring, and long-lasting.
Do not judge others, and you not be judged. Trust heavenly father’s peace. The evolution of one’s spirit is a task that happens individually.
Paulo is the founder and CEO of Arena, a data platform for consumer enterprises that has over 25,000 customers in more than 50 countries.
