Also, Destin really needs a new headshot. The one he has up is a pretentious sneer -- kind of the look of surprise one might have when one's "lessers" accost you. Stands out and not in a positive way.
Being outside the valley (and being outside of much of anything, really) my startup experience hasn't had that many VCs. But any time I deal with money people it always seems to seem like a heroic waste of time. Sometimes, as the article points out, it's almost comical.
For instance, I was interested in some grant money the state had available to high-tech startups who were pre-launch. Hey -- states need businesses to grow, and micro-investments at the pre-prototype stage looks like it makes a lot of sense. Their website bragged about the mission they had to encourage innovation, especially in the web and communication sectors (which I'm in)
So I get a referral from a couple of folks who know them (referral: check). I was introduced via email (personal introduction: check) Then they had me complete a form that took 3 hours which asked ridiculous questions like income projections for three years out. Finally I get a phone interview.
The interview lasted ten minutes, in which time I learned that a) the interviewer hadn't bothered to read my application before now, b) they were really interested in post-launch businesses with a growth record, c) really what they wanted to do was bigger-money investments, d) the interviewer had no experience in how to monetize the type of business I was in and didn't seem to want to hear anything I had to say about it, and e) no, the answer isn't no, just let's talk again in a month or so.
I mean come on. Let's get real. Until you respect my time as much as your own we're not going to get very far, whether you choose to invest or not.
From all I can see, something is deeply wrong in the way most all of these relationships are being created. I can see and understand that most companies fail and that most interviews are a waste of time from the interviewers standpoint, but that's the name of the game, folks. You don't let customer service slump and lose screening quality simply because you're playing a numbers game. That's idiotic.
Sounds sort of like any business deal where you have to sell
yourself as part of the transaction. Coming in with a
better attitude might help, Think of the process as a non
contact boxing match instead of a show and tell.
