> Consistently, if a VC sends a follow-up email asking factual questions, they’re already emotionally uninterested. Many entrepreneurs get caught up in this process: they send the VC a fact and citation, which the VC nitpicks, etc., but it’s already too late.<p>One million times this. Especially for entrepreneurs (like myself) with an engineering background, this is something that’s hard to grasp intuitively at first. If you’re asked for financial projections, for example, it’s already over. You can win that investor over more reliably by following up a month later with, “[famous Angel investor] joined our round,” than responding with a spreadsheet.<p>I’m nowhere near Justin Kan’s level of experience and expertise, but another favorite piece of advice it can take some time to internalize is: “if you didn’t get a term sheet, it wasn’t a good meeting.”<p>This doesn’t mean investors dislike you or won’t invest if you don’t get a term sheet right away. It’s that when you find an investor highly aligned and / or motivated to invest, they will move quickly, like sub-24h quickly. The easiest way to burn yourself out as an entrepreneur is getting too attached to “not good meetings”, with “but I really like that firm!” Or “and they were so nice and understood our business!” You’ll drive yourself nuts wondering why everybody says nice things and yet nobody wants to invest.<p>The saying is not that it’s a <i>BAD</i> meeting if there’s no term sheet, just that it wasn’t a <i>good</i> meeting. Stay grounded. It can be a long journey.<p>Remember: actions speak louder than words, always, and the fundamental action an investor can take to show support is to invest.<p>[Edit] I will add that, in my own experience, investors can be all over the map and there’s actually no such thing as “one size fits all” fundraising advice. Fundraising is a hyperpersonal activity that’s just as much about relationship building as anything else, if not moreso. You’ll want your first checks from investors that don’t fuck around (see above advice) and who are willing to bet on you. As you grow as an entrepreneur and become more confident in your ability to build relationships and “bullshit detect”, you’ll become more comfortable with long term relationships. In my admittedly limited experience, the people who spend time with you and learn to appreciate you and your business before they invest are <i>the most valuable</i> to both your bottom line and personal psychology.<p>But, hey, the above one size fits all advice is still a good launchpad :). If you’re starting your fundraising journey, good luck, it’s a hell of a ride but if you’re deeply passionate about your business it is more than worth it!