Rankz

Shaan cold-DMed an SEO-tool maker and got into Dukaan's first round

Shaan explains his networking playbook: whenever he sees something well-made online, he finds the maker and reaches out. He cold-messaged Sumit, builder of the SEO tool Rankz, did a same-day unscheduled Zoom, and ended up as a first-round investor in Dukaan ('Shopify for Indian shopkeepers'), which signed 3 million merchants in under 5 months.

“Anytime I see something well-made, I go find out who made it and I want to be friends with them. That's like how I built my network. And so I go and I find this guy and I'm like, yo, you built this thing. This thing's fucking cool. Like, let's talk. And he's like, okay. And I called him and literally on the, and I just did a Zoom call with him right there on the spot. No scheduling.”

Steal thisWhen you see anything well-built online, track down the maker and reach out same-day; treat it as your network-building engine.