Imagine you have a good story. But you have no connections. And you're in a region with a dearth of VCs. So you can't just randomly walk into (or email) a VC to get any sort of reception.
Without access to a side door, which is how the VCs currently connect with their chosen few, and with the front door basically bolted shut (very few VCs take inbound cold emails or respond to contact forms), it is impossible to just tell your amazing story to a receptive VC.
This is the issue. It's not that people don't know how to handle VC conversations. It's that they can't even get that conversation started. The VCs continue to turn to their existing networks, pools, or preferred mode of "discovering" startups. This results in the same few getting the attention.
I agree. The "story" VCs care about the most is: do other VCs want to invest in this?
That's the narrative people who raise large rounds are spinning. It has nothing to do with the tech, product... only how desirable it is to other VCs. The only way you craft that narrative is to be close to many VCs and pitch them all at the same time to create FOMO. Only those with strong existing connections make this happen.
Yes, if you built something that millions of people use the VCs will take a bet on your sure thing. That's super rare though. Most funding is going to their friends as it always has.
Ok let's keep digging deeper. Imagine you're a startup with a great story in Nashville, TN. Or perhaps Columbus, OH. Or Riga, Latvia. Or Bogota, Colombia. The specifics don't matter, but the fact that these are in VC "back waters" is the main issue.
Who are the VCs listening to in Nashville, Columbus, Latvia, and Bogota? Or if they aren't listening regionally, then where and who are they listening to?
My understanding is that VCs, like most people, are fundamentally lazy. They won't go out of their way to listen to people they aren't already listening to. This means the same networks, inbound deal feeds, and communities.
Imagine you have a good story. But you have no connections. And you're in a region with a dearth of VCs. So you can't just randomly walk into (or email) a VC to get any sort of reception.
Without access to a side door, which is how the VCs currently connect with their chosen few, and with the front door basically bolted shut (very few VCs take inbound cold emails or respond to contact forms), it is impossible to just tell your amazing story to a receptive VC.
This is the issue. It's not that people don't know how to handle VC conversations. It's that they can't even get that conversation started. The VCs continue to turn to their existing networks, pools, or preferred mode of "discovering" startups. This results in the same few getting the attention.
Tell me how you solve the introduction problem.