Posted by Stéphane Nasser | May 15, 2024

VCs aren't your friends

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2024-05-16 06:00:12

Posted by Stéphane Nasser | May 15, 2024

Yesterday, famous VC Jason Lemkin passed on a startup because the deck was dated from 2 months ago, which he saw as a negative signal.

Let me tell you why (a) Jason did nothing wrong, and (b) most founders have the wrong expectations when it comes to VC relationships.

NB: This is an "opinion piece", slightly different from our usual educational content. Feel free to say if you hate it or love it on Twitter and LinkedIn 😁

So, Jason opens a cold email. The deal seems decent, but not that exciting. Then, he notices that the date on the cover is outdated. Small detail? Yes, but also a red flag that tips the scale. Jason passes.

A VC receives 10 to 50 decks per week. Out of those, 10% are hot: think OpenAI. These deals don't even need a deck to raise. They thrive on FOMO, it's a pool party. VCs fight for allocation on those cap tables.