# Warm Path Finder > Find the right human at an investor (the partner / principal / senior investment manager who owns your deal) AND map the warm-connection paths to reach them. Use when a founder says "who at should I talk to", "how do I get a warm intro to ", "find a connection to ", "who can introduce me", or is stuck going from a target firm to an actual person and a path in. Works from the founder's own authorized data (Gmail, exported LinkedIn connections, contacts) + public sources — never scrapes private data or guesses personal emails. - Skill: `oncesylvia/warm-path-finder` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 7 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add oncesylvia/warm-path-finder` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/oncesylvia/warm-path-finder/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: oncesylvia (https://skillmd.com/u/oncesylvia) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/oncesylvia/warm-path-finder --- # Warm path finder Targeting tells a founder *which firms*. This skill closes the gap everyone gets stuck on: **which specific human to reach, and who can warmly introduce them.** It does two jobs: 1. **Pinpoint the person** — the partner / principal / senior investment manager who actually owns your sector and stage at the target firm (pitching the wrong person wastes the shot). See `references/finding-the-person.md`. 2. **Map & rank warm paths to that person** — surface every legitimate route from the founder's network, score by trust × reachability, and hand the best one to the `warm-intro` skill. See `references/connection-mapping.md`. Read `shared/references/outreach-ethics.md` first. The whole skill lives or dies on staying inside what's **authorized and public** (see the data-source tiers below). Same anti-hallucination rule as the other research skills: a person or a connection you assert must come from real data or live research, with a source — never invent a partner, a title, or a mutual contact. ## The hard line on data (read this before doing anything) | ✅ Allowed | ❌ Not allowed | |---|---| | The founder's **own authorized data**: their Gmail, their Google/phone contacts, a LinkedIn **connections export** *they* downloaded | Reading the founder's LinkedIn graph via API or scraping (no API exists; scraping breaks ToS and risks a ban) | | **Public** info: X/Twitter bios, firm team pages, portfolio lists, podcasts, conference speakers, Crunchbase/AngelList people | Crawling login-walled content at scale | | The founder **manually** checking shared connections / DM-open status while logged in | Guessing or buying personal email addresses to blast | If a step would cross this line, stop and tell the founder. ## Step 1 — Pinpoint the right person For a target firm, identify the specific decision-maker, not "the firm." See `references/finding-the-person.md`. In short: - Find the partner/principal who **leads your sector & stage** — via the firm's team page, who **led the round** for portfolio companies like yours (search " partner"), their public thesis/posts. - A **senior associate / principal / senior investment manager** who covers your space can be the better first target than a famous GP — they're more reachable and looking to source. Note who *sources* vs. who *decides*. - Capture their **public footprint**: firm bio, LinkedIn URL, X handle, recent writing/podcasts. This is research input, not contact-harvesting. ## Step 2 — Search the founder's own authorized data first (Tier 1) This is where the real warm paths hide, and it's 100% authorized. Ask the founder which they can provide, then mine it. If they don't know how to get the data, point them to `references/exporting-your-data.md` (step-by-step LinkedIn export + Gmail/contacts, EN + 中文). - **Gmail** (if connected): search their history for anyone already linked to the target firm or person — past threads, shared recipients, intros they've received. An existing thread *is* a warm path. - **Exported LinkedIn connections CSV**: have the founder export it themselves (LinkedIn → Settings → Data Privacy → Get a copy of your data → Connections). Then cross-reference names/companies against the target firm and its portfolio. - **Contacts**: Google/phone contacts for the same matching. Match on: people *at* the firm, people who are *portfolio founders* of the firm (highest-trust introducers), and people who share an employer/school with the target person. ## Step 3 — Map public-network paths (Tier 2) For paths not in the founder's own data, find them in the open: - **Portfolio-founder paths** (best): a founder the firm already backed vouching for you is the strongest intro. Find portfolio cos near your space; the founder may know one, or know someone who does. - **X/Twitter**: locate the firm's partners/managers, their public thesis, and whether they're reachable (open DMs / active repliers). The founder confirms DM-open status on the profile; you draft the message. - **Shared communities**: accelerator alumni, university/employer networks, angel syndicates, founder Slacks/Discords, mutual advisors. - **Events**: who from the firm is speaking where — a live intro beats a cold DM. See `references/connection-mapping.md` for how to mine each surface. ## Step 4 — Score and rank the paths For every path found, score it so the founder spends their best shots well. Rank by **trust × reachability** (see the rubric in `connection-mapping.md`): - **Trust**: how much does the target person trust the introducer? (portfolio founder > close peer/colleague > acquaintance > weak tie) - **Reachability**: how easily can the founder actually ask this introducer, and how likely are they to say yes and follow through? Output a ranked shortlist, not a dump. The **best connector is the one the target actually replies to and who genuinely rates you** — not the most senior name. ## Step 5 — Hand off - **If a warm path exists** → pass the top path + the named introducer to the **`warm-intro`** skill to write the ask + forwardable blurb. - **If no warm path in the founder's own network** (common for first-time / cross-border founders) → don't jump straight to cold. **Widen the surface**: accelerators, scouts, syndicates, operator angels, communities, give-to-get, build-in-public all *manufacture* warm intros — see `references/expand-warm-surfaces.md`, and vet any scout/FA channel with the **`fundraising-agents`** skill. - **Only once warm surfaces are genuinely exhausted** → the strongest direct route (an open-DM partner who posts about your space, a firm's submit page) → hand to **`cold-email`** / **`cold-call`**, anchored on the specific person and thesis. - Always note the **contact route + DM-open/submit status** you found, and a reminder to re-verify it right before reaching out. ## Output format - **The person**: name, title, why them (sector/stage fit), public footprint, source links, confidence flag. - **Ranked warm paths**: introducer → relationship → trust×reachability score → how the founder knows them (Tier 1/2 source). - **Recommended next move**: the single best path, and which skill to use next. - **Coverage note**: which data the founder did/didn't provide (e.g., "no LinkedIn export yet — here's how to get it and what it would unlock"). ## Bilingual / China market (中文) If the founder is raising in the **China market**, read `shared/references/china-market-playbook.md` and use `references/zh-talk-tracks.md`. LinkedIn is effectively gone in China and WeChat has no clean contact export, so **do not** ask a China founder for a LinkedIn CSV. Instead have them fill the **focused contact sheet** (`references/contact-sheet-template.csv`) from their phone contacts export, CamCard/名片全能王 export, alumni rosters, and WeChat tags — then mine that. Full how-to (中文) is in `references/exporting-your-data.md`. Online paths: 脉脉 (Maimai), 微信好友/群, 校友圈; X applies only for 欧美 investors. ## Refuse / push back when - Asked to scrape LinkedIn or read the connection graph via API — explain the authorized export route instead. - Asked to guess or obtain personal emails to mass-contact — refuse; route to a warm path or a public submit form. - Asked to assert a "mutual connection" that isn't backed by the founder's data or a real source — never fabricate a relationship.