The Investor List Scam: Why You’re Wasting Time Chasing Ghosts

I get it. Networking is important. Building relationships is key.

But every day, I see the same recycled garbage. “Comment ‘Investor’ below and I’ll send you a list of 40,000+ active funders.”“We track thousands of investors every week, just sign up for our event and get exclusive access.”

The same pitch, slightly reworded, designed to lure in desperate entrepreneurs and filmmakers looking for funding.

Let’s get one thing straight. These lists are worthless.

No serious investor is sitting around waiting for a mass email from some cold outreach list. They aren’t looking for you in their inbox. They aren’t scanning LinkedIn posts hoping to find their next deal from a spreadsheet being handed out to anyone willing to type a keyword in the comments.

Why Investor Lists Don’t Work

I’ve raised millions in private equity. I’ve sat in real rooms with real investors, negotiating real deals. And I can tell you from experience that no one securing meaningful funding is using these lists.

You know who does?

The people who don’t know any better. The people who think fundraising is a numbers game and that if they send enough emails, someone will bite. The people who still believe that finding the right investor is just about access instead of strategy.

Here’s what actually happens.

You get the list. You spend hours sending out personalized messages. You maybe get a few responses. Then nothing happens.

Why?

Because investors don’t fund cold pitches from people they’ve never heard of. They fund relationships. They fund strategic deals that are positioned the right way through the right channels with the right introductions.

They fund people who understand how to speak their language, mitigate their risks, and structure opportunities that actually make financial sense.

Why People Keep Falling for It

Every week, more and more people fall for these scams.

They think if they just get in front of enough investors, something will stick. They believe access is the issue when in reality, the problem is their entire approach.

It’s not that you don’t have the right names.

It’s that you don’t know what to do when you get in front of them.

It’s that you don’t have the right materials.

It’s that your deal isn’t structured in a way that makes sense to the people writing the checks.

The Harsh Reality of Investor Behavior

The industry preys on this desperation.

Every day, new events pop up promising investor access. Every day, someone new offers an “exclusive” database.

But ask yourself this.

If a private equity firm or a serious angel investor is actively looking for opportunities, do you think they’re giving their email out to be blasted by thousands of random founders?

Do you think they’re hoping the perfect deal finds them through an open call?

The reality is investors don’t work like that.

They don’t waste time sifting through cold emails.

They don’t want to be approached by just anyone.

They want to invest in people who already understand the game.

What Actually Gets Projects Funded

The people who actually raise money aren’t the ones relying on investor lists.

They’re the ones who understand that getting in the room is about more than just access.

They build real investor-ready materials.

They understand financial modeling and risk mitigation.

They know how to frame their projects in a way that aligns with an investor’s interests, not just their own personal passion.

They get warm introductions, not spammed-out cold emails.

And most importantly, they know how to close.

Stop Wasting Time on Investor Lists

If you’re still chasing investor lists, stop.

If you’re signing up for networking events expecting that you’ll walk away with a check, rethink your approach.

The people who are actually getting funded are playing an entirely different game than the ones wasting time sending emails into the void.

If you’re done wasting time, it’s time to start thinking like an investor, not just a founder looking for money.