If you're not looking to raise, do you take a VC's call?

1qwqw · on Sept 13, 2012

That post is well-met, but it doesn't really dive deep enough into why talking to investors is good.

Additionally, it's essentially saying to look into their portfolio to make connections, don't talk about your own company, and return the call to be "polite".

First, any VC's portfolio is going to be other startups; any strategic partnerships with other startups inevitably devolve into "mutual referral" territory, which is next to useless. It also forces you to stick your neck out for a company that may not exist in a few years (this goes for us, as well as them).

Second, it's impossible not to talk about your company when it's the sole reason the associate cold called you in the first place. How do you block and bridge that?

Third, not returning a cold call/email doesn't make you impolite.

001sky · on Sept 11, 2012

Brad Feld has a good article on the subject. I woud recommend it to you.

http://www.feld.com/wp/archives/2012/08/how-to-respond-to-a-...

and I posted it here to HN:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4507841

Aside from agreeing with his advice, one constructive observation.

We have no interest in raising, or spending any time resources whatsoever on establishing relationships with investors.

The words "no" "any" "relationships" are sort of an odd mix in this sentenece. Consider how you are framing at the situation. As PG said in a recent post, if a company becomes big enough, there will be a market for its shares. So, the idea that you can be "doing well", or so well that you should never consider future investment, or even an exit, is a bit of a red herring.