I also prefer meeting founders outside an active raise.
Without a deal on the table, I evaluate real trajectory and problem obsession.
By the time we look at a round, our conviction has already compounded
Without a deal on the table, I evaluate real trajectory and problem obsession.
By the time we look at a round, our conviction has already compounded
Gokul Rajaram@gokulr · 13hThe Best Time to Meet an Investor: When You Don’t Need One
A founder texted me just now, before our first meeting: "Full disclosure, we are not raising right now."
I texted them back: "I'm so happy (and relieved!) that you said this."
Even though I invest full time, my favorite first conversations with founders are the ones where they’re not fundraising.
There’s no pitch to get through and no decision hanging over either of us. (Okay, everyone’s always selling a little). But it’s different when nobody needs anything from the meeting.
Those are the conversations where I actually learn something. What problem they can’t let go of. What a customer told them that changed their mind. The hire they keep going back and forth on. It also focuses me on where I can be helpful with customer and talent intros. I get a feel for how they think, and they get a feel for whether I can help.
This matters. Why? Because if we end up working together, it’ll be for a decade or longer. Most of the founders I’ve backed and loved working with, I knew well before they ever sent me a deck. By the time they were raising, we’d already had spent enough time together that the decision mostly made itself.
And this is true for founders too. Do you really want to get someone on your board who you've known for 2 weeks?
So if you’re building something and not raising right now, honestly, that’s the best time to reach out to and engage with investors (like me). No deck. Just tell me what you’re working on.
(And if you are raising, that’s fine too. I’ll do my best to forget about it for the first 30 minutes.)
Open quoted post →A founder texted me just now, before our first meeting: "Full disclosure, we are not raising right now."
I texted them back: "I'm so happy (and relieved!) that you said this."
Even though I invest full time, my favorite first conversations with founders are the ones where they’re not fundraising.
There’s no pitch to get through and no decision hanging over either of us. (Okay, everyone’s always selling a little). But it’s different when nobody needs anything from the meeting.
Those are the conversations where I actually learn something. What problem they can’t let go of. What a customer told them that changed their mind. The hire they keep going back and forth on. It also focuses me on where I can be helpful with customer and talent intros. I get a feel for how they think, and they get a feel for whether I can help.
This matters. Why? Because if we end up working together, it’ll be for a decade or longer. Most of the founders I’ve backed and loved working with, I knew well before they ever sent me a deck. By the time they were raising, we’d already had spent enough time together that the decision mostly made itself.
And this is true for founders too. Do you really want to get someone on your board who you've known for 2 weeks?
So if you’re building something and not raising right now, honestly, that’s the best time to reach out to and engage with investors (like me). No deck. Just tell me what you’re working on.
(And if you are raising, that’s fine too. I’ll do my best to forget about it for the first 30 minutes.)
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