How to Get Deal Flow to Invest in The Best Companies in The World

There are a lot of different ways to get deal flow, but I would just say key takeaway here is having a long-term outlook, creating the leverage of media around you, and just continue to compound that leverage and, you know, going for the ask and it goes down in a DM. All right. So today we are going to talk about how to get deal flow. So I'm going to share a couple of experiences that have been working out for me, and maybe you can take these experiences and modify them for whatever it is that you're doing exactly. So my name is Eric Siu. I am the creator of the Leveling Up Heroes NFT project, which is a life gamification NFT, and here to help level up the world. And before we start leveling up the world, don't forget to hit the like and the subscribe button because it helps us grow. So let us get into it. First and foremost, what does deal flow actually mean? So when you think about investing, let's say you were an early investor into Amazon or early investor into Google. You would have made a lot of money. But how would you have gotten access to that deal? Well, if you happen to have known Amazon, let's say, or let's say you're one of the Google founders, like you actually happen to know Jeff Bezos. Well, Jeff Bezos, because he was already a successful entrepreneur, he was getting deal flow. And so what tends to happen is people that are doing interesting things and people that have, they tend to get access to things as well. And that also means they get access to deals and they get to invest in some of the hottest companies that are up and coming. So the question is, how do you get access to deal flow? And there's a lot of different ways to do it. But when you get in early, let's say you invested into Google when it was like at a $10 million valuation. It's over $1 trillion now, right? So you would have made a lot of money, right? And so when people think about buying stocks, they want to buy in early because the valuation is lower so they can make a lot more, like a larger multiple on their money in the long term. So that's just kind of investing 101. So, you know, how do you get the access that, you know, these successful people or rich people, celebrities, how do you get in there? And I think there are a couple of ways to do it, right? I think, A, it's cool if you work on interesting things. Let's just start there, right? So the earlier you start working on interesting things, it compounds and you start to become more and more successful. You start to get access to other people. Then you got— you start to get access and you have to ask as well. For me, what's worked is always being a part of different communities, right? So, you know, I would go to events when I was younger. I'd go to networking events and then that continued to compound over time. And I eventually started going to the TED conferences. So the main one in Vancouver. I started to go to Singularity University events. So these are all kind of, you know, about learning and talking about the future. And when you have people that are like-minded that go to these things, you're more likely to have connection with them as well. Also being a part of different entrepreneur communities as well, such as YPO or EO, and there's a handful of other ones. And not only that, after understanding how these community works, starting to do my own communities, right? So when I was about 26, 27 years old, It wasn't like I was super successful or anything, but I had started to see the value in attending these different groups. I started research. How do I actually throw a dinner of, you know, getting like-minded people together? And I was broke at the time. I mean, sometimes, you know, we'd be eating chips at my place, right? And my point is, you know, when you gather like-minded people together, people like to do business with people. People will think of you more, and it's just that impression. You're creating these little serendipitous touchpoints, and then, you know, every once in a while you pop up, whether they follow you on social or whatever. It's those touchpoints, right? And they start to remember you. They'll reach out to you. Hey, how are you doing? What are you excited about? What can I do to help? People like doing business with people. And so events go a long way and then hosting events, right? So maybe you start with dinners first. You start hosting larger dinners. Maybe you start covering the bill as you become more successful, right? Just to make it easier. And eventually you start hosting events because that's something we're used to doing which as part of the Leveling Up Heroes project, you know, we have 3 events per year. And so when you're the host of something, you're the connector, it's much easier for you because people will just come up to you. Like I don't really like going up to people. So I prefer to kind of create the environment, design the environment, and create a great experience for people. So that's what it is. And then also, you know, creating content. I mean, the reason why I, you know, we have our podcasts, right? There's the 2 podcasts. There's this YouTube channel which I've been doing over the years kind of off and on. There's our Instagram as well. There's— I've been spending a little more time on Twitter. And so, you know, we're trying to attack these channels because again, they create serendipitous touchpoints. And when you're able to create and You're able to hit up other interesting people. Let's use the podcast as an example. So let's say I want to invest in an interesting company and let's say it's, I don't know, Google back in the day. Well, back in the day, if I had a podcast and, you know, the company was up and coming, I might just reach out and say, hey Larry, would really love to have you on the podcast and heard you guys are doing some amazing things. Would love to just talk about it, maybe 30, 45 minutes or so. And, you know, our podcast gets about, you know, 2 million downloads a month, which is what it's at right now. And so, you know, the trade here is that they're coming on to get exposure and then you're giving that exposure. So yes, you do have to do the work to kind of compound your audience over— your audiences over time. But once you're able to do that, sometimes you can, if they're in your city, you can even get them to show up in person and build that in-person relationship. Do that podcast right there, have a conversation afterwards, and then just ask at the very end, hey, can I invest? Or hey, what else are you investing in right now? Are you investing in any other funds? And that's how you start to create deal flow because you start to ask about these things and then you make connections. And also when you have deals, you introduce them to— you talk about with other people too, and they will remember you over time. And again, people like doing business with people. And I like to think of it as a ratio, right? There's the— Gary Vee has a good analogy around jab, jab, jab, right hook. So I like to just keep giving, giving, giving. And the ratio I'm looking for is maybe for every like 9 gives, I might have 1 ask. And I don't try to go for the ask too much. I try to just keep giving and, like, that's— this is why I create content for free. This is why, you know, if I host a dinner, I'm gonna— I'm gonna try to cover the events most of the time or— or the dinner cost most of the time or have a sponsor for it. And, you know, I find that just the more that I give, the more comes back to me and I give without expectation because I— because I know at the same time, like, things would just happen, magic would just happen like that. So, creating content builds that foundation, gives me that leverage point to have great conversations which I can spread with the world. And then that leads me to be able to have other conversations with people. I can— look, my ask can always be tailored at the very end. Who else do you think I should be talking to that's doing amazing things like you? By the way, can I invest? Or which funds are you investing in right now? You know, what other companies do you think I should be looking at right now? So, there's a lot of angles here, but when you start to create that leverage for yourself, which is the leverage of media, a lot more options open up to you. And so, Same thing. I mean, when you host events, you publish the events, you publish the recordings online, you chop them up, throw them up perhaps onto TikTok or Shorts or Reels. When you go to events as well, you know, maybe you pay for access, maybe you pay for the higher tier, right? So TED, when you go to the conference, they have like the regular tier, but then there's a donor tier as well. And the donor tier gives you access, right? So typically, like, if you can afford it, can you pay for the greater access out there? And, you know, paying for the access is typically worth it because you can write it off and you get access to other people. So It compounds down the road. And so kind of one of the foundational aspects of all of this is you must have a long-term view on how you invest because that's how you get access to deal flow. If you don't, if you try to get results the next day, then that causes you to be impatient, that causes you to react differently, that causes your behaviors to change. But when you have a very long-term outlook and you're very chill about things, it doesn't matter because you know you're going to get the deal flow. You know you're going to get to invest in cool things. You know they're going to compound over time. And that's what it is. And the other thing I'll say too is when I talk about asking, it all goes down into DMs. So I find Twitter DMs are the best because the ratio of kind of smart people versus noise— I mean, really smart people that you can just hit up directly on Twitter, and most people have their DMs open. Instagram's decent, but I think Instagram, there's just a lot of noise in there and not necessarily the smartest people hanging out on Instagram. Even Warren Buffett has a Twitter account. He doesn't have an Instagram, I'll tell you that. And so, you know, you just got to think of it that way. Like, what's the— where— Where's the blue ocean that you can attack where they are hanging out? Sure, you can hit them up on email too, but you know, that's what it is. And there's always an angle too, like even for the Marketing School Podcast, I'll bring on amazing entrepreneurs and you know, we might tie in a little marketing angle there, but I largely want to talk about their story and largely I want to talk about at the end like, hey, you know, who are you involved with right now? Like again, are there any cool companies I can invest in or can I invest in your company? And also, if you don't have the money to invest, in these companies, what if you can take some, like an advisory share portion or get some minor equity there, right? So there are a lot of different ways to get deal flow, but I would just say key takeaway here is having a long-term outlook, creating the leverage of media around you, and just continue to compound that leverage. And, you know, going for the ask and it goes down in a DM. So let me know if you think I missed anything below in terms of deal flow. Let me know what you'd like to see me create next. Don't forget to hit the subscribe and the bell button because it helps us grow, and we'll catch you later.