Wander into securities‑law territory – 90% of the cold outreach we receive @ FilmProposals is indeed, breaking the law:
If you remember nothing else, remember this:
1️⃣ You send your business plan or pitch deck to strangers
If someone doesn’t already know you, and you drop a deck or business plan in their inbox that:
Shows how much you’re raising
Lays out investor terms, waterfalls, or profit splits
Talks about “what investors get” or “expected returns”
You’re not just asking them to review your project. You’re offering an investment to the general public.
For a private film deal, that’s exactly the kind of thing regulators see as “marketing an unregistered security,” especially when it’s spray‑and‑pray to people you’ve never met.
2️⃣ You talk numbers with people who may not be accredited
If you don’t know whether someone is an accredited investor and you’re:
Quoting minimum checks (“$25K gets you in”)
Talking about “ROI,” “IRR,” or “what investors make”
Emailing detailed financials and waterfalls
You’re mixing specific investment terms with people who may not be allowed anywhere near that structure.
If you’re unclear on who counts as accredited vs non‑accredited, you’re not ready to be talking deal numbers at all. Start with education, not with economics.
👉 That’s why we break accredited investors down in plain English here:
https://filmproposals.com/what-is-an-accredited-investor.html
3️⃣ Your “first touch” looks like a sales pitch, not a relationship
If your very first contact with someone is:
A deck or business plan attached
A wall of numbers and terms
“Want to invest?” with no prior relationship
You’ve skipped past “hello” and gone straight to “here’s my offering.” That’s not outreach; that’s a compliance breach.
What a legal and sane cold email looks like
For a first email:
One person, one message
Show you actually know who they are and what they do
Ask for lessons or advice—not for money
If you mention the project, keep it high‑level: logline, audience, budget context and a note that detailed information lives in proper documents for appropriate investors
If your outreach starts with attachments and numbers, you’re not just being rude—you’re drifting into the zone where the rules apply and you don’t even know which rules they are.
Get clear on who you can talk terms with, and how you’re supposed to do it, before you send anyone your deck.
If you want to approach ANY strangers for investment, you must have a PPM, full stop. https://filmproposals.com/film-private-placement-memorandum.html
