Asia Startup Lessons

  I have been ghosted by more venture capitalists than I care to count. At this point, ‘we’ll circle back’ has an infinite vesting schedule Over 10 years of building my startup, I estimate that roughly 70% of all meaningful investor interactions ended in radio silence. Not a no. Not a maybe. Just… nothing. Radio silence, distilled down to its purest, uncut form. I’m not talking about the cold outbound email that goes unanswered. I’m talking about investors who requested a meeting, sat through a pitch, asked for data, received it, and then vanished from the face of the earth like they entered witness protection. Let me be clear. I don’t need or expect every VC to say yes. I’ve heard no plenty of times, and I respect it. A clear no is a gift. It lets me move on, refine the pitch, and spend my time on investors who are actually interested. What I cannot respect is cowardice dressed up as being busy. You asked for the meeting Meetings were had, partners and associates were introduced, ...