Two Mistakes Founders Make With VCs
Founders don't know two important things about raising venture capital.
This is why so many come across as entitled or desperate and fail to land funding.
First, VCs have people they answer to.
Second, VCs have to think about how they will raise their next fund.
Let's quickly break each of these down. In the current market many LPs are pissed or scared. They don't want to send the money they committed to the VC fund back when times were good. And VCs don't want to upset their LPs or make them look bad.
So the first thing to remember as a founder is you need to make sure the VC will look good when talking about the deal with LPs.
Now for the second part of this. VCs get paid a percentage of the AUM plus carry. This is why VCs want to deploy capital, get winners, and raise a new fund.
By new fund, I mean bigger fund. Bigger fund means more money for them personally and the firm. If a VC can't see how you the founder will make it easier for them to raise their next fund, it's not worth taking that bet.
The rules of the VC game are critical to understand. VCs answer to LPs. VCs get paid from raising future funds.
As a founder if you want to get capital, think about how you can help the VC succeed with their bosses and their goals.
This is "audience centric" communication.
Know your audience.
Tailor the messaging.
Win the deal.
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A former trial lawyer and prosecutor in Dallas, TX, Robbie trains founders to become world-class storytellers and venture capital fundraisers.
In barely two years, he's helped founders raise $575,000,000 of venture capital