Comment by wavesplash | Hacker News Reader

Comment by wavesplash | Hacker News Reader

Excellent points. I have very little to add but a few minor bits:

- Don't worry about NDAs with VCs. At least on this side of the pond, no VC is going to sign them. Don't leave your full deck behind in digital form. Leave them a summary deck on paper if you absolutely must. (just assume the deck will get passed outside the firm).

- Do make sure the VC doesn't have a conflicting investment - if so, assume everything you talk about will be going into the ears of your competitors.

- Avoid spotters/associates. Get referred in to a partner by another entrepreneur they've worked with before (work your linkedin or xing). Don't take a 1st meeting with an associate (feel free to chat with them on the phone briefly). If a firm wants to see you, then they can find a partner to talk to you. Associates can only say 'no' and generally have limited deal experience and just may not understand your market (of course there are exceptional individuals and firms where this doesn't apply).

- Timing is everything. When you're ready to go out - have a list of VCs you want to speak with and try to get all your meetings lined up for the same two to three weeks. VCs all talk to each other. Once they hear another firm passed on your deal, it's harder to get the next one to bite. Make it a parallel competition. Don't overexpose your company.

- Do research on the firm and the partner that you're pitching. http://www.thefunded.com is free for founders. Get an account and use it for research. (I'm not affiliated with thefunded, just a fan).

RE: "make sure the VC doesn't have a conflicting investment": This is very important.

My recommendation is to proceed like this:

1) Tell then a little about your project (not being cagey, just progressive disclosure) and ask if they have any conflicts, such as existing investments or close relationships ti similar companies.

2) If there are no conflicts, then memorialize this via email (maybe you had this whole conversation via email already, so you're done).

3) Save that email, it is evidence of you disclosing enough about your product/service/whatever for them to determine if they have a conflict or not and them representing that there is no conflict.

4) Proceed and peel back some more layers of the onion. Explore together and ask them as many questions as they ask you. Do not fall into the "I'm pitching them" role. You are "pitching" each other, if you insist on using that word. You should be doing due diligence on them.

> Associates can only say 'no' and generally have limited deal experience and just may not understand your market

Interesting!

That's in direct conflict with my (limited, European) experience. Usually you don't get to speak to a partner until you've passed muster with one of the associates, they act as gatekeepers to make sure the partners spend their time on those things that they feel are worth it.

I agree with all your other points, the NDAs are not a common thing in start-ups, but at a later stage they are definitely important.

If you're walking in the front-door / blind emailing then you'll end up with an associate. Same on both sides of the pond.

The trick is to get referred in via a stronger link (a referral from a successful entrepreneur they've worked with in the past is usually a quick way to get to a partner. Perhaps even an intro from a fellow that does due diligence for them ;).

When we did the tour in '05, we were in the door with partners at every firm we pitched, and we're not especially connected. The way to get VC meetings is to have friends who have been funded; you call them up, and they call up their VCs, and it goes from there.

If your friends like/respect you, this isn't a big favor.

Hey, by the way, the fact that this industry is so clubby, and that having the right friends rockets you to the front of the line? Something else I don't like about VC-funded startups.

Yes, I know that if you're rocking it, you don't need the friends. But then, if you're rocking it, you don't need a lot of advice on how to engage VC's --- in fact, you don't need the VC's.

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