Jeff Bussgang on what’s an entrepreneur to do in the context of a fundraising process when time is their enemy, but the VC’s friend?
One piece of advice is to simply recognize this difference in this attitude towards time and try not to fight against it. One wizened general partner at a top firm once remarked to me about a particular deal: “They told me I had to make a decision in the next few days, so I told them I’d save them a few days and simply pass. It’s VC 101 – anytime an entrepreneur puts a gun to my head, I pass. There’s always another deal.”
If you can create a sense of urgency in the fundraising process, you’re running an unusually charmed process. More typically, you can expect to run a fundraising process where you simply have to give VCs the time they need to “soak in” the deal, live with it for a few months and then, at the right moment, try to call their interest to question. Rushing the process only gets the VC alarm bells ringing. For the entrepreneur, this start-up is their life’s work and on their mind every moment of every day. For the VC, there’s always another deal.
Arun Natarajan is the Founder of Venture Intelligence India, which tracks venture capital activity in India and Indian-founded companies worldwide. View sample issues of Venture Intelligence India newsletters and reports.
One piece of advice is to simply recognize this difference in this attitude towards time and try not to fight against it. One wizened general partner at a top firm once remarked to me about a particular deal: “They told me I had to make a decision in the next few days, so I told them I’d save them a few days and simply pass. It’s VC 101 – anytime an entrepreneur puts a gun to my head, I pass. There’s always another deal.”
If you can create a sense of urgency in the fundraising process, you’re running an unusually charmed process. More typically, you can expect to run a fundraising process where you simply have to give VCs the time they need to “soak in” the deal, live with it for a few months and then, at the right moment, try to call their interest to question. Rushing the process only gets the VC alarm bells ringing. For the entrepreneur, this start-up is their life’s work and on their mind every moment of every day. For the VC, there’s always another deal.
Arun Natarajan is the Founder of Venture Intelligence India, which tracks venture capital activity in India and Indian-founded companies worldwide. View sample issues of Venture Intelligence India newsletters and reports.