What should I send an investor who says they're interested?

When someone tells you they are interested, it is tempting to reply with everything at once: the deck, the full documents and a link to every file you have. It rarely helps. A pile of attachments is easy to set aside for later, and later often never comes.

Good materials back up the trust you build by talking with people; they cannot build it on their own. So what you send next should do one job: make the next conversation easy. Keep it short, and leave the investor with a few questions they want to ask you.

Before you send anything about a specific deal, answer a prior question: does your exemption let you discuss that deal with this person at all? The answer depends on the exemption and on how you know them. The issuer decides which exemption applies, with its securities attorney.

A common way issuers show they did not use general solicitation is to offer only to people they, or someone acting for them, already have a substantive relationship with, meaning one that began before the offering and in which they learned about the person's finances and sophistication. Under 506(b), someone with no relationship with you yet, or whose relationship with you began after the offering did, gets material about you and how you invest, not the deal itself. You can keep getting to know them for a later offering.

Under 506(c), you may share a deal with people you do not know, but every investor must be accredited and you must take reasonable steps to verify that before accepting money.

A web form, a reply to a post or a quick introduction is not a relationship on its own. A person telling you they are interested is a good reason to start getting to know them.

Each step gives the investor a little more and asks a little more of them in return. Moving one step at a time keeps the conversation going, and it shows you what each person actually wants to see.

Not everyone takes every step, and some people move faster than others. What does not change is that deal materials go only to people your exemption allows, and only once there is an offering to describe.

A good reply is short and warm, and it asks for a conversation instead of handing over a stack of files. Thank them, suggest a short call, and mention what they can read first if they would rather start there.

If they are someone you may discuss the deal with, offer the short summary and tell them the full documents are ready whenever they want them. If they are not, thank them, say a little about how you invest, and suggest getting to know each other. Do not describe the deal, its terms or its timing.

Ask how they like to review things. Some people want a single link, some want a login, and some would rather read a printed set with a pen in hand. Asking is quicker than guessing wrong.

Finish the offering documents before these conversations begin, so you are never scrambling when someone asks. Most people read them when they are making a decision, not on the day they arrive.

Offer them rather than leading with them. Walking through the summary together first makes the documents easier to follow. When someone you may share the deal with asks for the full set, send it promptly: holding back something an investor asked to see costs trust, and the request itself tells you their interest is real.

This article is general education, not legal advice. Before you send anything about a specific deal, speak with your own securities attorney about which exemption fits your raise and who you may share the deal with.