TechCabal Daily – Down in the DMs 📥

Last week, Cowrywise, an investment tech platform, raised a $3m pre-series-A round. At first glance, nothing stood out.

But then co-founder Razaq Ahmed shared this Tweet announcing that Sahil Lavingia, founder of Gumroad, had joined the round – through a Twitter Direct Message(DM) no less.

But, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Because Cowrywise strikes me as EXACTLY the type of startup that would attract a VC personality like Lavingia via Twitter.

Cowrywise clearly knows its customers — young, aspirational, and digital native Nigerians.
You need an amazing product that makes customers sing your praises. Word of mouth is the holy grail of marketing.

And, the cherry on top is that a strong Twitter personality is going to attract Silicon Valley investors who make up the Twitterati. Think of it as a filtering mechanism. A VC who clearly values writing (like Lavingia) is going to gravitate towards a startup that values comms and writing. As more Silicon Valley investors want in on African tech investments, Twitter DMs will become the gateway to dealmaking.

When I speak with founders who need comms or PR services, I often meet founders who are shy of the carnival-like atmosphere of Twitter or just don’t get its value. Coincidentally, they like the corporate LinkedIn vibe. But, that’s a mistake. Twitter is an indispensable tool – for fundraising, building a community of users, and courting top talent. It’s where you show your startup’s personality. In an age where spectacle is everything, personality matters.