Every other week a new angel investor or venture fund would reach out. Some wanted to genuinely learn about us, some wanted to know more about the sea

The Great Pandemic Bull Trap

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2023-01-23 15:00:10

Every other week a new angel investor or venture fund would reach out. Some wanted to genuinely learn about us, some wanted to know more about the search space, and a few others were just curious about us because they were thinking of investing in one of our rivals (it’s a small world, so word gets around!).

Some of the larger potential customers that we were speaking to back in 2021 were concerned about our viability as a business that had not raised VC funds.

“Are you venture backed? Why don’t you raise a round and hire a few more people? We will be much more confident to proceed with your solution then.”

In mid-2021 we came mighty close to actually closing a round. However, the fund developed cold-feet at the last moment, and said they were “not ready yet”.

In hindsight, we dodged a bullet. I know several companies that raised at ridiculous valuations in 2021. Today, they have already done a round of layoffs and are now preparing for a down-round.