AI Tools and Investor Relations: A Practical Guide for Founders
Are You Ready for the AI Shift That Will Redefine Capital Raising & Investor Relations?
Founders, capital raisers and investors who want practical ways to use AI tools and sales software without losing the personal trust that closes investor deals.
What you will hear
Richard C. Wilson describes three layers of AI tool sophistication for founders and investors. The first is large language models such as ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity. The second is pre-built specialized tools such as HeyGen. The third is custom multi-step workflows built with automation platforms. He says using the second layer and building a couple of custom tools could place a user in the top 5 to 10 percent of their space.
The talk also stresses that AI does not replace trust. With deepfakes, Richard argues investors cannot believe what they only see on a screen, so meeting in person stays central to closing. He then walks through his team's software stack, including Zoom Phone, Fireflies for call analysis and ActiveCampaign for CRM engagement scoring, and explains how each supports faster follow-up.
- 1Search web for press releases
- 2Find contact details
- 3Send customized email via CRM
5 key takeaways
- Know the three layers of AI. Richard separates AI use into large language models, pre-built specialized tools, and custom automated workflows. He says most people are at the first layer. Moving up a layer is where he sees the edge.
- Write clear, explicit prompts. He advises being very clear about what you want and do not want, and the output format. Asking the model to act as an advisor and uploading attachments for context also helps. A tool called Prompt Maker GPT can help beginners.
- Use AI as a check, not a verdict. His team had AI review an 89 page real estate inspection report and it flagged costly items missing from the summary. Richard says not to blindly rely on either the professional or the AI.
- In-person meetings still close deals. Richard says deepfakes mean investors cannot trust everything they see on video. Meeting face to face, and walking a manufacturing floor, remains hard to fake. He calls this the most AI resilient part of raising capital.
- Track calls and engagement data. Fireflies transcribes calls and reports sentiment, filler words and long monologues across a team. ActiveCampaign scores email opens, clicks and replies so the team calls the most engaged contacts first.
In their words
"Everything could be faked. And investors know this. And the more AI grows, the more you can't believe anything you don't see in person."
"People want to do business with others they can trust, who show up."
"It's not like it replaces meeting in person and developing real relationships."
Facts from this talk
- Richard says the number of AI startups grew from 56,000 in December to over 70,000.
- He says ChatGPT reached 100 million users in 60 days, compared with 7 years for the internet and 20 years for electricity.
- His team moved from HubSpot, which grew from about 12 or 14 thousand dollars a year to 55 or 60 thousand, to ActiveCampaign for its CRM.
Sources
From Richard C. Wilson's Centimillionaire Strategies YouTube channel: Are You Ready for the AI Shift That Will Redefine Capital Raising & Investor Relations?. 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.
Related questions
- What are the best AI-powered CRM tools for fundraising?There is no single best one.
- What AI tools help build an investor target list?General AI assistants like Claude or GPT help most.
- Is it risky to put investor data into ChatGPT?Yes, it can be.
Questions about this video
What are the three layers of AI tools?
Richard describes large language models as the first layer, pre-built specialized tools such as HeyGen as the second, and custom multi-step automations as the third. The third suits people with technical skills or those who hire help.
Why does Richard say in-person meetings matter more with AI?
He says deepfakes mean due diligence materials, IR numbers and even team members could be faked. Meeting face to face helps investors get comfortable with who the person is.
How does his team use Fireflies?
Fireflies plugs into Zoom and analyzes calls. It shows sentiment, filler words, long monologues and keywords across a team. It also emails the call attendees a transcript and summary as an automated follow-up.
Put this into practice with the waterfall calculator. See all ai for capital raising resources.
