Today I took a client to talk to three different venture funds. While none of the funds told us to hit the road and not let the door hit us on the way out, only one (thank heavens for the one) was genuinely encouraging about moving to "next steps."
This evening I read the Business Week Deal Flow blog post on Bessemer Venture Partners' recent addition to its web-site--its "anti-portfolio"--the companies it had the opportunity to invest in and didn't. Their list includes little successes like:
- Apple Computer
- eBay
- Federal Express
- Intel
- Intuit
- Paypal
Let's all remember to take a little comfort in the knowledge that even smart people sometimes guess wrong. When an entrepreneur hears "no" from a venture capitalist, she's in good company!
We see quite a few deals come through, and actually pitch to our fund (albeit we're very different, they come anyway).
I have to admit I see a high value in retaining someone like you that has experience to help pitch. Maybe it is just the nature of our fund, but I can't believe lately how many people have come through without a basic understanding of how the process works.
Maybe you aren't sure, but do you find that VCs often are more willing to listen to a pitch when you bring them in, rather than them going on their own?
Posted by: nick (uvf) | March 22, 2006 11:45 PM | Permalink to Comment