Decoding VC responses

Decoding VC responses – here’s what they actually mean:

“Let’s keep in touch” = It’s a NO. But they want optionality if you become hot later.

“Too early for us” = Either they don’t believe in the space, or your team isn’t experienced enough. It’s anyways a NO.

“Need to see more traction” = They don’t have conviction in current state. Get them to be specific about what metrics would change their mind.

“Great vision, but…” = They don’t believe you’re the team to execute it. Or the market isn’t ready yet.

“We need to see a lead first” = They’re interested but won’t take conviction risk. Good signal – use this to get other investors excited.

Real talk: The only response that matters is a term sheet. Everything else is just varying degrees of “no” or “not yet.”

Pro tip: If they don’t provide next steps or timeline by end of meeting, they’re probably not interested.