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Entrepreneurs: the Importance of Intros

by Miki Saxon

https://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewbasterfield/5543166503I was reading Mark Suster’s Both Sides of the Table about how Seriously came to be funded.

It’s a good read, as most of them are, but towards the end he says something that is both a fact and a fault in funding.

So I hope that offers you insights into how companies move through the VC system. Intros. Vision. Domain Knowledge. Clear path to execution. Ability to build without a massive budget. Execute.

The bold emphasis on ‘intros’ is mine, because they are why many valid, worthwhile, game-changing startups will not get funding.

No matter how brilliant, the founders are outsiders and/or don’t fit the accepted profile.

In short, they don’t fit investor bias.

But mostly, they don’t have the connections who are able to pick up the phone and evangelize to someone like Suster.

All of which means that the pool of fundable startups keeps shrinking.

Flickr image credit: Andrew Basterfield

One Response to “Entrepreneurs: the Importance of Intros”
  1. MAPping Company Success Says:

    […] ‘warm intro’ investor bias is one of the worst, because it raises the funding bar to almost insurmountable heights, which […]

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