

Ask HN: A VC firm wants to meet. should they pay for the flight? - jayzee

They seem to be reluctant/ignore that qs in email thread a couple of times. What's the standard? I thought that I give up my time and they give up their money was the general way things worked.<p>Or are they not interested and just wasting our time?
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bdclimber14
Lot's of VC firms do fish for information.

I don't have much experience, but I would say "We're very busy right now and
as a bootstrapped startup, all available funds are funneled into improving our
product and delighting customers. Airfare isn't an affordable option right
now, but I would love to meet the next time you are in the area."

If they really are interested, they will offer to pay for the tickets right
there. If they aren't serious, then they probably won't.

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andrewstuart
Are you sure you know if it is them, or if it is you that wants to meet?

If someone called me and said "I love your company I'd like to meet", I'd say
"well you can come into my office Friday if you like". If they said "we're too
busy to come to you" then I'd say "I'm pretty busy too, let me know when
you're in town next and we'll meet."

The fact that they have said "let's meet" and you have rushed to buy a ticket
to go to them probably means you want to meet them more than they want to meet
you, therefore they will not pay for the flight.

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jayzee
I have not bought the ticket yet.

But I am not talking abt my specific case. What is standard/typical? I thought
that they should pay and the fact that they have not brought it up would imply
to me that they are not that interested and they are just fishing.

But may be I am reading too much into it and vc's don't pay. Which is why I
want to know what is typical.

Thoughts folks?

~~~
andrewstuart
I'd ask them what they want to meet about. Why have they contacted you? Do
they have specific questions? What would they like to cover in the meeting?
Can it be covered over the phone?

Who initiated the contact? If they contacted you then you have the "hand" and
can ask all these questions. If you have been chasing them down asking for a
meeting then probably you have to do as they ask.

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damienbasile
Take another approach - set up other meetings with other VCs in the same city
around the same time to justify the trip. Taking a trip on your own dime for
one VC firm isn't as cost effective with your time, unless you're in the later
stages of talks and even then if it's going well then they will fly you out
with their money. My initial thoughts are to either do that or search close to
home. If they're really interested they'll make it happen at all costs.

It's a HUGE red flag that they're reluctant or ignore the questions in the
email thread a couple of times. If it's not a policy of theirs to pay to fly
out a prospect then that's fine, but say it up front. I personally wouldn't
want to have anyone invest in my company that hems and haws around a pointed
question.

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ra
_Or are they not interested and just wasting our time?_

You can expect to have to meet lots of investors, many of them several times
over before you actually manage to secure any funding. The ones you meet that
don't work out aren't wasting your time any more than you are wasting theirs.

If they've agreed to meet you then it's probably because they see potential,
either now or at some point in the future. To reduce the signal/noise ratio be
sure not to overstate the progress you have already made as a company.

The value of honesty in self-representation can not be over stated.

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petervandijck
I don't think that's done. It's not good for them (they would have to pay
heaps of tickets) or you (you show weakness).

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pclark
Erm, the VC should _come to you_.

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gojomo
Everything's negotiable, but also everything's a signal.

If springing for your airfare was the key to making a investment they really
wanted, they could do it easily (even if they've never done it before). But
also, asking for the airfare makes you seem a bit desperate for what (to a
healthy business that just needed expansion capital) would be a trivial
expense.

I like the "why don't you come visit us" response, especially if the travel
distances make it a potential morning-out, evening-back trip for the VC who's
interested in your business. It expresses interest but not too much, openness
but also confidence.

If you do take the time and expense yourself – and presumably this is to visit
the valley – then be sure to _meet many investors on the same trip_. See all
the Venture Hacks stuff on setting up a time-compressed market for your
fundraising... though you could also view your initial visit as just a
testing-the-water/getting-feedback exercise, figuring you'll return with a
more focused fundraising agenda later.

