The wrong reason to talk to VCs
"If you want money, ask for advice. If you want advice, ask for money."
Note: If you’re not raising money, this article will still apply to you. Just "replace 'venture capitalist' with 'customer,' 'future hire,' or ‘employee.’ And replace ‘money’ with ‘buy-in.’ And every word below still applies.
Hi there,
There’s a saying I love: If you want money, ask for advice. If you want advice, ask for money.
The number one reason to talk to venture capitalists is not to get their money. It’s to get a better understanding of how to build your business.
Most founders will need to speak with 30 to 50 venture capitalists before getting funded. But the irony is that most founders ask for money, and then don’t even take the advice that comes with it.
As if somehow they know better than the folks who’ve collectively watched more companies rise and fall than most of us will ever see.
When you walk into a VC meeting with wonder, rather than trying to prove something, the dynamic shifts. They become more curious about you. And when you come back having acted on what they told you, it means they’ve participated in building your company.
That makes it a lot easier for them to write a check.
Neediness repels
During a recent talk I gave on pitching, I brought two volunteers on stage and asked one of them to embody neediness: to just hold that energy in their body.
I asked the other: “Do you want to step toward her or away?”
Away. Every time.
Then I asked her to shift: embody the question “Is this person right for me?”
The other volunteer stepped forward.
This is the real dance happening in a VC meeting. Long before you get to slide five, they’ve already read your nervous system.
If you walk in needy, they lean out. If you walk in genuinely evaluating whether they are the right fit for you, they lean in.
Investors are incredibly hard to fire. Bad board dynamics have killed countless companies with brilliant products.
So the most effective question for you isn’t just “Will they fund me?” it’s “Do I actually want to be in business with this person for the next seven years?”
Experiment
Before your next investor conversation, write down two lists:
The three things you genuinely want to learn from this person — not perform for them, but actually understand.
Two questions you’ll ask about whether they are the right fit for you.
Bonus experiment:
Ask the four questions above the next time someone on your team doesn’t perform.
Big Love,
Joe
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