The Three Words No Early-Stage VC Wants To Hear
I was pitching a prominent early-stage venture capitalist and preparing to hit the climax of my presentation. I’d spent the prior 10 minutes artfully describing the problem my startup was solving, demonstrating demand, showing traction… all of it building toward the data point I was most proud of. I clicked to my next slide to reveal an “upwards-and-to-the-right” graph and explained: “By continuing on our current trajectory, we should be cash-flow positive within 18 months.”
I’d delivered that same slide dozens of times to plenty of other investors, entrepreneurs, and mentors. While it hadn’t gotten any applause, nobody ever seemed bothered by it. But not this time. This time the venture capitalist laughed. Not a loud or obnoxious laugh. More of a soft snicker. Still, it was enough to catch my attention, so I stopped to ask him what was funny.
“You don’t see why this slide is funny?” he replied.
“No,” I answered. “This seems like the most important slide in my deck. It’s explaining how I’m going to turn my venture into a self-sustaining business.”
“That… right there. That’s what’s funny,” he said. “You’re pitching me — an early-stage venture capitalist — on a self-sustaining business. What do you think it is we do here?”
