

Signs A VC Is Just Not That Into You - eladgil
http://blog.eladgil.com/2012/07/signs-vc-is-just-not-that-into-you.html

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nrmehta
The article is good but I don't think it delves into the "middle ground" which
is so common for startups. A very small percentage of companies elicit huge
interest (i.e., fast action, term sheet quickly, etc.) A surprisingly small
set of companies that meet with VCs elicit signals that are clear nos (e.g.,
not responding to emails and so on). These are usually ones where the idea is
so dumb or the pitch is so bad, the VC questions the entrepreneur's
capabilities. I'd say the vast majority of meetings turn into this netherland
where the VC isn't sold on the idea but also isn't sold on NOT funding the
idea. S/he either doesn't know the space well enough, isn't sure his/her
partners would agree, doesn't have enough clout in the firm yet (see previous
point), doesn't know the entrepreneur well enough to feel conviction, etc. So
s/he doesn't say yes. But s/he doesn't say no yet either because s/he wants
the optionality in case (a) another VC firm who is well respected or know the
space decides to go after it (which creates the super-annoying lemming
effect), (b) another partner and his/her firm gets "conviction" on the company
independently, (c) s/he hears other good things about the entrepreneur, etc. I
think for most entrepreneurs, this is the most annoying category to be in.

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tptacek
I'd be very careful with this attitude. What VCs are trying to do is retain
the option of saying "yes", for _almost everybody_. They are happy to have
your team spend time maintaining that option for them. If it costs them almost
nothing, why wouldn't they?

The best rule of thumb here is "maybe means no".

~~~
a5seo
What's a nice but clear way to end the conversation without damaging the
relationship in case you want to pitch them for Series B?

~~~
ChuckMcM
They are offering it, the 'lack of response'. You can choose to drop people
and then been strictly interpretive of their requests (or lack there of) for
followup. So if you leave a meeting and there are no next steps, just stop
talking. Later at your series B you can offer to bring them up to date on your
current plans.

Understand that some (many?) VC's understand that saying "no" explicitly can
hurt your prospects with other VCs (you will be asked to explain why that
other VC said "No" which is impossible to do usually because you don't have
the complete picture). So they let it drift quietly silent and understand when
"you are really busy and might not get back to them for a while."

~~~
eladgil
Agreed. You can basically stop trying to prompt them to follow up with you
(since they are non-responsive / won't suggest next steps typically in this
scenario).

Another tough thing to balance is the flip of this - how to politely drop a VC
you do not want to talk to further, who is interested in your company and
knows you are fundraising...

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stevenj
pg's take: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3550195>

~~~
eladgil
Ha. That is pretty good. There are some steps between "Hi" and "Here is a term
sheet" but you can definitely tell if someone is very excited.

Unfortunately, it is harder to tell if someone is disinterested as VCs try
hard to maintain or preserve relationships for the future, which makes them
more cautious in just saying "no" outright. I think the good ones are pretty
up front about not being interested early.

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ramblerman
Are we really reduced to this...

Half of these could come straight out of Vogue, "How to tell if you're date
liked you?"

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gojomo
Is there a way to turn this around by gently prompting the VC to start playing
the role of a truly interested investor? That is, challenge them to reverse
some of these listed signals. If as a part of normal conversational
cordiality, the VC plays along (to avoid sending a clearer no-interest
signal), eventually they're hyp _mo_ tized into thinking they are interested?

For example:

"What are your suggested next steps?"

"When should our next in-person be?"

"Which more senior partner will be handling the next steps?"

"Why should I take money from your firm?"

