Networking and investor events
Which investor conferences are worth attending for fundraising?
Short answer
The conferences worth your time have real investors on stage, a team that has run many events, and plenty of time to meet people in person. I can't rank every event for you, so I use a checklist. Check the team, the actual speaker list, the number of streams and the track record before you buy a ticket.
I get asked this every day at Family Office Club. People want to know which conferences and communities are worth joining. My answer is to do due diligence on the event, the same way you would on a fund or a company you might invest in.
Start with who actually runs the event
Many investor clubs and conferences don't have a full team. They run one event a year with a few volunteers. The website may not show you that, because there is very little team to show. When it is a one to three person organization, the quality of the event may not be consistent. So ask who is on the team and how big it is. That is the first thing I would do.
Then look at how many events they have hosted and for how many years. You learn a lot from doing something hundreds of times. I would also look at the track record of the founder and the team as thought leaders.
This clip walks through the questions I would ask before attending any investor conference or joining a club.
Summary and key takeaways from this video
Read the speaker list for the event you are buying
Some events show you every speaker they have ever had. Maybe someone famous spoke at one of their events many years ago. Then you ask about the upcoming event and find 12 speakers, or even three. Look at the current lineup, not the history.
Then ask what each person is doing on stage. Are they there to sell a service, or are they an investor, a family office or a peer you could partner with? I got frustrated speaking at over 200 events in 17 countries because many put service providers on stage and few actual investors. That is why we started hosting our own.
Count the streams too. A conference may list 70 speakers over three or four days, but with three streams running at once you see a fraction of them. Even a very attentive attendee might see around 25 speakers on stage, and many of those can be sponsors and service providers.
Why format and in-person time matter for raising money
For fundraising, the point is to meet the right people. Look for networking time built into the day, and ask how attendees can find each other. At our events we use an app for setting meetings, plus an AI tool that sorts attendee bios and shows who has the most in common with you.
"We have lots of discussion panels on stage, and we have a high number of investors on stage per day at the event."
I also cite research attributed to Dr. Robert Cialdini, as I said on stage, that in-person meetings are far more likely to get something closed. I have heard the figure as 16 times. That is why I tell founders to go to the room instead of relying only on LinkedIn or Zoom.
Kamil explains why he attends and speaks at live events instead of only finding people online.
Whatever event you pick, many sponsors talk to a securities attorney before they speak publicly about an offering, since what you say in a room full of investors may raise questions worth discussing.
From the Family Office Club stage
One more thing to weigh when you pick events is how long you are willing to wait. At our own events I hear from hundreds of investors on stage, and it works as a perpetual learning machine for me. For you, a conference contact may take a year, two, five or even ten to sprout. That can still be worth it. One investor putting in 40 million can matter as much as 400 people investing 100K each. So I would pick a few rooms where the right investors gather and keep showing up, instead of chasing every event once.
"It's important to note, which we do at some of our other events, that one investor putting in 40 million is equal to 400 people investing 100K each. So you might have to plant seeds that take a year or two or three or five or 10 to sprout."
"Fortunately, by creating the Family Office Club, which is the name of my investor club, 16 years ago, I've created this perpetual learning machine so that I hear from hundreds and hundreds of investors on stage at my own events."
Facts from this talk
- Richard spoke at over 200 events in 17 countries before hosting about 300 of his own.
- At Family Office Club events, the longest anyone speaks is 15 minutes, and over 75 people on stage could each give a full day workshop.
- Kamil brings over 30 years of deal-making across continents and shares it live at events instead of teaching textbook theory.
Sources
From Richard C. Wilson's Centimillionaire Strategies YouTube channel: Investor Conference & Club Due Diligence: 7 Areas to Investigate, Investor Club Event Strategies & AI tools | Single Family Office Summit May 2025, Family Office Club Charter Member Testimonial by Kamil Homsi. Quotes come from the video captions, lightly edited for readability. Figures are the speakers' own estimates and experience.
General education only. Not legal, tax or investment advice.
Talk to a securities attorney to explore options around public offering communications, general solicitation questions and speaking about offerings. Do not use AI to write your own legal agreements.
Where to start
- Ask the organizer who is on the team and how many events they have run.
- Request the confirmed speaker list for the upcoming event, not past ones.
- Sort the speakers into investors, peers and service providers.
- Check how many streams run at once and how much networking time is built in.
- Many sponsors talk to a securities attorney before discussing an offering with attendees.
Follow-up questions
Is a bigger conference always better for raising capital?
No. Several hundred people can be great, but only if the investors are on stage and you can meet them. Workshop and mastermind formats can also be very powerful when they fit what you need.
Should I worry if an event has many service providers on stage?
It is worth noticing. If most speakers are selling something, you may meet fewer investors, family offices or partners for joint ventures. Look at the mix before you pay.
Can I just raise capital online instead of attending?
You can start online, but I find in-person meetings are far more effective. The research I cite suggests face-to-face meetings are much more likely to get something closed.
Related questions
- Where can I find angel investors near me?Start by finding local people and groups connected to your industry and the kind of investor most likely to understand your business.
- Is cold emailing investors effective?Cold email can start investor conversations when I target people who have a reason to care about the opportunity.
- How can I find investors who fund early-stage companies?Start with investors who understand your industry and can assess a company at its current stage.
- How do I find investors for a small business?Start by identifying investors who can understand your business and have a reason to pay attention to it.
Work through it with the how much to raise calculator. See all networking and investor events resources.