

Ask HN: Hey VCs, do you mind if ppl intro themselves when you're out at a bar? - wimpycofounder

Went to a talk by a VC who is very active in my area. Didn't get a chance to introduce myself after the talk (there were &#60; 25 ppl at the talk but the VC had to run). A few hours later, was out for drinks with a friend and saw he was at the same bar but talking with someone else.&#60;p&#62;Discussion ensued with my buddies around whether or not I should intro myself considering I didn't have a chance earlier in the day, but I ultimately decided against it. What say you: Should I have? I ask for the next time I'm in this situation.
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fredwilson
this was a really good question @wimpy

i turned my answer into a blog post

[http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2011/12/should-you-introduce-
yoursel...](http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2011/12/should-you-introduce-yourself-to-
me-at-a-bar.html)

~~~
wimpycofounder
Wow thanks for the clarification, Fred. Awesome to get some perspective from
someone who deals with this day in and day out!

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willvarfar
Curious tangent:

What's better, to introduce yourself to a VC or to be introduced to a VC by a
gushing shared acquaintance?

(If being introduced, then this leads to the strategy of introducing yourself
to those who mingle with the VCs, rather than directly to the VCs
themselves...)

~~~
ig1
Shared acquaintance, no question.

~~~
chris_dcosta
Well actually I disagree, but I know exactly where your coming from.

The thing is that we imagine that VCs get approached all the time by people
with alot more balls than us. We also imagine that they hate a direct approach
from a stranger and would much prefer you to be introduced through their
network. We all know that's what networks are for right?

The point is _we imagine_ this. We project how we might feel in their shoes,
but the real truth is _we can never know for sure_ how they will react. It's
their job after all to find the talent!

I remember having the exact same conversation with musicians years ago about
approaching the A&R guy. When I did get the balls to do it, you know what, he
didn't sign me, BUT he didn't ignore me either, and we had a great
conversation and I invited him to a few gigs.

How much time would I have wasted looking for an intermediary, when all he
wanted was to "discover" the next big thing. Isn't that what VCs want too?

~~~
ig1
Ask any VC you know how many un-referred startups they've ever funded in their
entire lifetime.

(or just read the quora question on it [http://www.quora.com/Venture-Capital-
Firms/Have-any-top-tier...](http://www.quora.com/Venture-Capital-Firms/Have-
any-top-tier-VCs-made-an-investment-based-on-an-unsolicited-pitch-emailed-in)
)

VCs get pitched all the time they can't afford to give unsolicited pitches
more than a tiny fraction of their time for evaluation as 90% of them will be
terrible. But if a pitch comes with a recommendation from someone they trust,
it's much less likely to be a bad pitch so they can spend a bit more time
looking at it.

Getting an introduction to a VC isn't hard, it's trivial to meet startup
founders at events, etc. and most would be willing to introduce you to their
VC if they thought you had a good idea.

If you're not capable of getting a warm introduction fairly easily, then
that's a huge negative signal for the VC about your capabilities.

~~~
chris_dcosta
I know what the general advice is, but _not doing_ what people tell you to do
is pretty much what we encourage people to do.

I see no difference between encouraging people to bend and break the rules to
create an innovative start-up, and bending and breaking the rules to attract a
VC. It's all part of the same mentality.

But if that isn't a good enough argument, then try the maths: the probability
of success is 50-50 on every try.

