This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

You’ll pitch a new client by e-mail or you’ll ask people you’ve worked with to recommend you. One of my VC coaching clients is looking for a position with a new firm. Who she could convince to sit down with her would say something about her network and access. It would remind your own network that you exist.

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leadership networking creativity pitching 416

TechCrunch

DECEMBER 28, 2022

Building an investor network from scratch sounds daunting. We recently sat down with three VCs who have also been founders to talk about different ways founders can approach this problem, how to land that first term sheet and what that term sheet should contain. How do you start a network from zero?

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networking founder investing investment 99

StartupNation

MAY 24, 2021

Part of this could be the result of the pitch. That pitch needs to be on point, with a clear and concise executive summary, a detailed business plan and a killer pitch deck that makes a compelling case to invest. While we’ve been strongly supported by our VC backers during the pandemic, the same can’t be said for every startup.

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VC pitching networking venture capital 76

TechCrunch

OCTOBER 4, 2022

This relationship also supplied Spleet with the critical network of landlords required to list multiple units when it went live; the pitch to landlords was that Spleet would bring proper KYC into the rental process and allow them to verify tenants and automate rent collection. Our solution on the tenant side was a no-brainer.

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VC real estate venture capital financing 131

Entrepreneur's Handbook

MARCH 30, 2023

Why You Can’t Raise VC Money Photo by Jp Valery on Unsplash Many entrepreneurs have experienced the keen sting of rejection when venture capital firms refuse to invest in or otherwise respond to their exciting new startups. We had tapped our entire network for warm intros and sent dozens of eye-catching cold emails to no avail.

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VC venture capital pitching capital 59

Jason Malki

MARCH 9, 2023

Then, I stumbled upon PE/VC after chatting with a good college buddy of mine. Number two: develop an investment thesis of your own that is best suited to your skills, experience, and/or network. VC is a patient capital asset class — you won’t know how good of an investor you are until several years down the road.

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VC ventures angel investing innovation 98

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

She was pitching for a pre-seed round of $400k. Founders hit the street with their pitch deck, some make it, and some don’t, but nearly all of them ascribe a lot more human influence over the process than there probably is. I’m a female founder. I don’t have a technical co-founder. I don’t have enough traction.

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advice pitching venture capital VC 407

TechCrunch

MARCH 17, 2023

I shy away from sharing hot takes, but here’s one: With contagion contained, the VC community feels good about writing smallish checks for pre-revenue startups, but Series A and up? If you’re an investor who wants to be included in future columns, email guestcolumns@techcrunch.com with “How to pitch me” in the subject line.

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pitching frameworks advice strategy 92

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 16, 2014

How long does it take from first meeting a VC to getting cash in the bank? If all my deals came as intros from trusted connections that I know for years versus at founder pitch events that''s interesting data. If you meet someone at a pitch event, they''ve already got a company and they''re looking to close as quickly as possible.

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VC pitching networking venture capital 406

TechCrunch

DECEMBER 16, 2021

I’ve sat at both sides of the table as a founder and a VC, and I understand how difficult it is to get them on the same page. I’ve participated in a number of accelerators, including Disney and Techstars, and these programs gave me a noticeable advantage when I stepped into VC.

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accelerator VC mentorship pitching 86

TechCrunch

OCTOBER 4, 2022

Improve your pitch: Startup Battlefield isn’t just thrilling to watch; it’s a masterclass in how investors think. All right, here are the final five business Brahmins who will help judge the Startup Battlefield pitch competition. Mar Hershenson , co-founder and managing partner at Pear VC. in operating roles.

disruption 91

disruption VC ventures startup 91

This is going to be BIG.

JULY 8, 2013

I usually direct people to this post --still hanging atop the search rankings for " How to be a VC analyst" years later. Since there''s no way to both make yourself accessible and not get a fire hose of inbound, most of the pitches you''re going to have are from perfectly nice, smart people who have perfectly horrific, unworkable ideas.

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venture capital VC advice capital 417

TechCrunch

AUGUST 18, 2023

Full TechCrunch+ articles are only available to members Use discount code TCPLUSROUNDUP to save 20% off a one- or two-year subscription “Starting a tech company today costs 99% less than it did 18 years ago when Y Combinator was started,” says Brett Calhoun, managing director and general partner at Redbud VC.

VC 81

VC frameworks mix-use pitching 81

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 14, 2024

It’s easy for a VC to just stick within your own networks and filter bubbles—and hard to scale being “open” without opening the floodgates. I didn’t care much whether you curated the room or not, because it was a chance for me to spend an hour or so talking to 50-100 people.

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communities consulting creativity advice 316

Entrepreneurs' Organization

DECEMBER 15, 2023

You need a solid business plan, traction to demonstrate market fit, and the skills to pitch effectively. Don’t neglect ongoing investor relations “A lot of startup founders think that the only way investors will respond favorably is if they provide their best pitch on first contact,” said Mohammadi.

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pitching consulting advice communities 214

StartupNation

SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

Only 11% of VC partners are women , and as a whole, women angel investors have only reached 22%. Make sure you are pitching to a fund that is appropriate for where your business is right now. There is starting to become a “network effect” among the women-focused funds, where people share stories about the good, the bad and the ugly.

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pitching entrepreneurs real estate angel capital 88

Hunter Walk

MARCH 2, 2023

So, yeah, we’re believers in being accessible and open to founders regardless of whether or not we share an existing network. That’s why I’m participating in SeedChecks , an experience by which you can submit your pitch deck to a group of early stage investors without having to know any of us already.

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founder VC collaboration pitching 113

TechCrunch

MAY 3, 2022

Pitch deck pro tips from a leading Silicon Valley venture capitalist. At TechCrunch Early Stage, Managing Editor Matt Burns hosted Lotti Siniscalco, a partner at Emergence Capital, for a session on pitch deck basics. ” Pitch deck pro tips from a leading Silicon Valley venture capitalist.

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pitching SaaS incumbents ventures 84

TechCrunch

APRIL 14, 2023

As it carried me through Golden Gate Park at a steady 23 miles per hour (slowing down to 6 mph for every speed bump), I felt like a packet of information being delivered across a network. “We would like to have more peers investing alongside us with this sort of thesis and understanding,” said Roberts.

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SaaS VC peer-to-peer pitching 73

TechCrunch

MARCH 22, 2023

If you plan to launch a new startup in France, Denmark or Sweden, there is a new seed fund looking for your pitch. Two things help Emblem stand out from other French VC firms. As many VC firms start raising ever larger funds, everything else starts to look like a micro fund.

VC 79

VC angel investing venture capital SaaS 79

David Teten VC

JULY 27, 2021

We have collected a wide range of freebies, contests, accelerators, online communities, and VCs designed for student tech founders. I have been researching this both to support Versatile VC ’s portfolio companies and also as part of research for my new book, To University and Beyond: Launch Your Career in High Gear. 1) Your school.

founder 144

founder mentorship peer-to-peer pitching 144

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 8, 2023

Does this VC that you know do this kind of deal? VC doesn't have those clear cutoffs. Do I pitch a consumer tech investor for my website that sells custom-fitted undershirts? The thing about such a pitch would be that it would unlikely to generate time wasting/tire-kicking meetings. Do they do deals at your stage? 
Is

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VC pitching opportunity SaaS 195

Jason Malki

NOVEMBER 10, 2022

In fact, only about 2% of startup companies will ever receive VC funding. Use Your Networks One of the best ways to get VC funding is to use your networks. If you have any connections to VC firms or individual investors, now is the time to use them! The more intel you have going into your pitch meeting, the better.

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venture capital capital ventures pitching 97

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

On December 2nd, 2006 I wrote the blog post published later in this post when I was CEO of startup Koral about my experiences in pitching VCs. I had previously raised VC in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005. In case VC’s haven’t figured this out yet, shit rolls downhill. My blog was wiped out. And covered we did.

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VC venture capital pitching capital 274

TechCrunch

JUNE 10, 2022

For example, I was mistaken for an intern in multiple meetings and generally not taken too seriously at networking or industry events. It wasn’t unusual for founders to take calls mid-pitch or check their messages when it was my turn to ask questions. At the time, our path forward wasn’t always clear. Louis well.

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VC venture capital ventures networking 99

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 29, 2023

When people describe what they hate about networking, they often use the word “transactional” in a negative way. I’ll charge you for some hours of my time to kick the tires on your idea and help rewrite or write your pitch. Do you aspire to be a partner in VC or to break in? Why do we have to do this little dance?

leadership 195

leadership collaboration pitching opportunity 195

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 8, 2011

How about as a VC? Fred has basically always been a VC, Mike was a reporter, and Jim worked in product marketing and management consulting. Surely--but then I realize how difficult it is to be an early stage VC in NYC. 3) Network, network, network. Charlie is a nice guy, but his company failed.".

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VC peer-to-peer board advice 275

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

In the first post in this three part series I described why I believe the VC market froze between September 2008 – April 2009. I’m not a doomsday guy, but just believe that we won’t see a V shaped recovery, which could make VC funding more difficult for tech start-ups (don’t shoot the messenger!).

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VC startup advice innovation 269

Startup Grind

AUGUST 13, 2018

Pitch your startup for an opportunity to meet with Floodgate. She previously founded Dress for Success, a network that empowers women to thrive both professionally and personally, and Crisis Textline, a non-profit that provides crisis intervention support via text. Pitch your startup for an opportunity to meet with Floodgate.

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VC entrepreneurship pitching strategy 111

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

As a VC you want to feel like you have “proprietary sources” of deal flow. I think the issue I have always had with investment bank pitches was best summed up in this article about Y Combinator in which Paul Graham apparently made the following quotes. They know how to build pitch decks. International money.

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VC advice pitching entrepreneurs 347

TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 17, 2022

But over the years, it has forced Floodgate’s small team to sort through many thousands of pitches and identify those it thinks have the most potential. I guess our network of friends and family and founders is technically our scouts. VC Ann Miura-Ko is looking to help more students answer the question: Is this idea big enough?

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VC networking incubation investing 96

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

In my previous post, The VC Ice Age is Thawing (for now) I wrote about the reasons why the VC market came to a screeching halt in September 2008 and remained largely shut until at least April 2009. There are now signs the VC market has gathered pace meaning it’s a great time to be fund raising.

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VC venture capital networking innovation 255

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 3, 2009

If you’re in the market or thinking about VC in the future the following video may be of interest to you – click here to view. If you want to learn more about “Pitching a VC&# make sure to check out the entire series here. The main summary of my interview is that VC may only right for you IF: 1.

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VC advice pitching networking 210

TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 9, 2020

There has been little movement in the amount of VC dollars going to women-founded companies since 2012. Though by no means does this mean that women aren’t doing incredible work in the field and it’s only right that women founders receive their fair share of VC investment. Venture capital is far from a level playing field.

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VC startup leadership communities 123

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 2, 2010

I’m writing this series because if you better understand how VC firms work you can better target which firms make sense for you to speak with. It in not uncommon to see a VC talk about “total assets under management&# as in “We have $1.5 What is a VC fund? VC’s don’t invest 100% of their own money.

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VC venture capital investing investment 269

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 9, 2020

If you're in a more privileged position with lots of VC connections to pitch, you’ll either do one of the following things: You'll come right back at me, tell me why and how I'm wrong—because at this point you have nothing to lose.

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founder pitching VC opportunity 250

TechCrunch

DECEMBER 3, 2021

Pre-seed round funding is under scrutiny: Is VC pandemic posturing here to stay? From your first meeting with a VC to money in the bank, a seed round takes on average 18.5 Within that time frame, you are pitching your heart out to multiple investors and ideally setting a number of meetings, either virtual or in-person.

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peer-to-peer pitching VC strategy 87