Why I Skip Casual VC Coffee Chats
Casual coffee chats with VCs are a waste of time. ✌
I’ve gotten so many outreaches from VCs. At first, I was like: "Wow, they reached out to ME. They probably want to fund MY startup..?"
Never the case. Instead, it goes like this:
- I spend the whole time talking
- They give "advice" on how to build the company with hardly any context
- I give them data about the space & our company as a data point and I get nothing out of the convo
More often than not, if it’s not a part of my fundraising strategy or pipeline, those cold outreaches from VCs end up being a big waste of time.
As a founder, my time is better spent talking to customers than investors.
Besides being a distraction, it’s also dangerous. These investors will give advice about how to build the startup, which isn't necessarily the best & optimal path to attract customers.
In the earliest stages, the best signal should come from my customers.
Everything else, including conversations with VCs, is just noise.
TAKEAWAY: Don't take casual, non-strategic VC chats, unless it’s part of your tight fundraising strategy.