The Deals Must Flow: Hot Takes for Beginner Investors on Accessing Quality Deal Flow and Picking Winners| NY #TechWeek
Now is the ideal time to invest, given the current state of venture capital and the market. However, this window of opportunity is rapidly closing. Investors likely have another good year to set the terms. By 2026, the market will shift back in favor of founders, where even startups with just a basic idea will receive solid offers from top VCs. If you’re considering investing and have capital to deploy, seize the moment now.
For beginner angel investors or those new to the VC world, learning how to access deal flow is crucial. In today’s environment, conventional playbooks no longer guarantee access to quality opportunities. To succeed, investors must adopt unconventional approaches to leveraging networks, building niche communities, and engaging directly with founders in emerging channels.
Join the talk with Ihar Mahaniok, a Managing Partner of Geek Ventures.
Ihar has a background in AI engineering in Google, Meta, and startups. Over 12 years, he has invested in 200+ companies, had 14 exits, and 5 went from seed to unicorn (including Instacart IPO, first checks in PandaDoc, and People.ai). Ihar is a Founder and Managing Partner of Geek Ventures; he recently has raised a $23M fund to invest in immigrant founders, and the fund has already made 43 investments.
Ihar was recently mentioned as one of "rising stars of venture capital, who shook up the industry in 2023" by Business Insider.
Geek Ventures is an early-stage venture firm in NYC investing in US-focused tech startups with immigrant founders. We invest across sectors in highly scalable companies. As of today, Geek has invested in more than 43 companies, including ShapesXR, NewHomesMate, and Foodready.
We’ll explore:
creative strategies for tapping into valuable deal flow
how to build a strong, diverse network, and engage with founders beyond traditional settings
what to look for in a pitch deck
the key questions to ask founders
how to sift through the red-flag/green-flag investing wisdom found on Twitter (X)
See you soon!
Republic is a network of hundreds of thousands of investors and tens of thousands of founders that raised over $3B across our funding platforms in the US, UK and EU
This event is a part of #TechWeek - a week of events hosted by VCs and startups to bring together the tech ecosystem.