I think Jason is overly focusing on one side of the relationship (i.e between the startup and the introducer) when I'd argue in actuality a lot of the value of the introduction depends on how well placed the introducer is to evaluate you.
For example I would rank introducers as:
1) People who are superstars in your field (i.e Peter Thiel if you're a payments startup) or have great track-records in backing super-star companies across fields.
2) People who are experts in their field and the VC trusts. For example if you're in an adjacent space to a current portfolio company, getting an introduction from that portco (or even a reputable non-portco) carries a lot of weight. Or investors who have a track record in your field.
3) People who are customers of your product and the VC trusts. If your customers are gushing about you that makes for a great intro, if a portco emails their VC saying "there's this product that we use and love and the company is raising money" that'll get attention.
4) People who are well placed to evaluate your product/startup and have some relationship with the VC. Similar to (2)/(3) but they don't have to have a strong relationship with the VC. The VC trusts them because of their expertise not because of their relationship.
5) People who are well positioned to evaluate you and your team personally and the VC trusts. So for example people you've worked with in the past who will personally vouch for you.
Below that you basically have introductions from people who (a) Aren't in a position to evaluate your business and (b) Aren't in a position to evaluate your team. So it's basically a case of "we met these guys the other day and they seemed smart and had a nice demo" - i.e. the VC might spend a bit of extra time looking at it as a favour to the introducer but it's unlikely to be significantly better than meeting at an event, etc.
At that level a bunch of other factors come into play. If an investor is super-into your space or if you've got a strong resume/team they'll likely look at you regardless of how you came to their attention.
Comments
I think Jason is overly focusing on one side of the relationship (i.e between the startup and the introducer) when I'd argue in actuality a lot of the value of the introduction depends on how well placed the introducer is to evaluate you.
For example I would rank introducers as:
1) People who are superstars in your field (i.e Peter Thiel if you're a payments startup) or have great track-records in backing super-star companies across fields.
2) People who are experts in their field and the VC trusts. For example if you're in an adjacent space to a current portfolio company, getting an introduction from that portco (or even a reputable non-portco) carries a lot of weight. Or investors who have a track record in your field.
3) People who are customers of your product and the VC trusts. If your customers are gushing about you that makes for a great intro, if a portco emails their VC saying "there's this product that we use and love and the company is raising money" that'll get attention.
4) People who are well placed to evaluate your product/startup and have some relationship with the VC. Similar to (2)/(3) but they don't have to have a strong relationship with the VC. The VC trusts them because of their expertise not because of their relationship.
5) People who are well positioned to evaluate you and your team personally and the VC trusts. So for example people you've worked with in the past who will personally vouch for you.
Below that you basically have introductions from people who (a) Aren't in a position to evaluate your business and (b) Aren't in a position to evaluate your team. So it's basically a case of "we met these guys the other day and they seemed smart and had a nice demo" - i.e. the VC might spend a bit of extra time looking at it as a favour to the introducer but it's unlikely to be significantly better than meeting at an event, etc.
At that level a bunch of other factors come into play. If an investor is super-into your space or if you've got a strong resume/team they'll likely look at you regardless of how you came to their attention.