David Rakusan ·
How to Build an Investor Target List (2026)
Most founders treat an investor target list as a contact dump, then wonder why the deck disappears. A target list is really a proof-routing problem: which investors have the thesis, stage, check size, and capital to act on your startup, and how do you get each one proof without repeating yourself fifty times. Here is the five-criteria method to build a fit-matched list in 2026, how big it should be, how to tier it, and the tools that source it.