Twitter is full of advice from VCs to entrepreneurs on how to raise money.

Having raised $208M from VCs in my career, here's the reverse: advice from an entrepreneur to VCs. 👇

(1/6)

Returns follow the power law. Your job is to get into the best 1% of companies. Because 99% of pitches are with companies you will NOT invest in, you get confused into thinking "you are in control". The best companies chose you, not the other way around.

(2/6)

Good evidence for this bias is the phrase "I passed on company X" which you say when they don't do a deal. It implies the entrepreneur would have taken your money even if you had offered it. That is not true for the best 1% of companies.

(3/6)

Your reputation is everything:
- If you screw over one entrepreneur, it gets around and will never be forgotten.
- If you do the opposite and put the company first when it really matters, it gets around and will never be forgotten (in a good way).

(4/6)

Feedback loops are long:
- If you are successful over only a few years, it can be random (and might be despite your "help").
- If you are successful over many decades, you are doing something right.

(5/6)

Hope that helps!

P.S. Stop being "a few minutes" late because your last meeting ran long. It's disrespectful and a sign of the cognitive bias described above.

(6/6)