When I wrote my post, How Not To Submit An Executive Summary, I probably was not explicit enough.  That posts states that it’s a bad idea to spam an executive summary to partners at many firms, as doing so is impersonal and calls into question your business judgment.

An entrepreneur recently made this same mistake on a smaller scale – he spammed his executive summary to all of the partners in my firm.  If he had a relationship with all of us, this might have been tolerable.  However, in this case, the entrepreneur didn’t know any of us – he just grabbed our email addresses from a website.  By doing this, he stacked the odds against himself.

If they aren’t obvious, here are some reasons why this is a bad idea:

• First and foremost, doing a mass email raises red flags to the VC about your competency.  Part of being ‘competent’ means understanding the nuances of business interactions.  VCs prefer entrepreneurs who can leverage their relationships to get introduced to a VC or who have the wherewithal to create a connection with the VC during the initial touch point.  Doing neither makes VCs think you don’t understand how to operate effectively.
• Second, not only does this action reflect a lack of judgment, it reflects a lack of concern.  Entrepreneurs should seek to understand who we are as a firm and as individuals – the form letter made it appear as though we were simply part of a mailing list.  Not all VCs are created equal and not all VCs are going to be a fit for this entrepreneur.  If an entrepreneur is not thoughtful about his fundraising, why should anyone believe that he’ll be thoughtful about other aspects of his business in the future?
• Third, this is a missed opportunity.  The entrepreneur missed the opportunity to create a connection with one of the partners during that initial email.  I offer some tips on how to do this in my post Who You Should Submit Your Executive Summary To.

Ultimately, spamming a partnership with your executive summary is a bad idea. Try to find firms that would complement your venture and leverage your relationships to connect with them in a more constructive manner.