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How to Get a VC's Attention at an IRL Event

This is going to be BIG.

What Alan recognized was that most IRL forums and networking events are absolutely awful places to pitch and here’s why: 1) When a VC shows up in person, they’re looking to replicate the kind of top of the funnel they would get in an hour or two’s worth of e-mail, and that’s not going to happen if you corral them into a corner for 30 minutes.

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Pitch me!

This is going to be BIG.

It''s a co-working space full of creatives and freelancers, most of whom who have never pitched an investor, and probably never seen a startup pitch either. The first question I always get, which I find endlessly hilarious, is "Don''t you get tired of people pitching you all the time?". Well, I guess I''m not surprised.

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What Would it Look Like if Elon Musk Pitched a VC Today?

Both Sides of the Table

It is always a stellar event. It is Nikolas Tesla pitching a VC firm. Because the videos show exactly what life would be like if a young Elon Musk came to pitch VCs today and said I want to transform P2P finance, get people driving electric cars and send a man to mars in our lifetime. But Elon Musk stole the show.

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Here Are the Details About Upfront Ventures’ Newest EIR – @Chamillionaire

Both Sides of the Table

I saw him on stage at the event talking about how he used social media to engage audiences. I reached out after the event to learn more. After seeing Chamillionaire interact with several entrepreneurs both at events and as an investor I started introducing him to startups in an advisory capacity.

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Startup Pitching 201

Paul G. Silva

This is the 2nd post in the “Startup Pitching” series. If we go back to the dating analogy from the last post: you’ve just met that special someone at the bar/event and you get your chance to speak… do you tell them your whole life story? So simplify your pitch. Front load credibility.

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How early should you connect to a VC? Here's some data.

This is going to be BIG.

If all my deals came as intros from trusted connections that I know for years versus at founder pitch events that''s interesting data. If it turned out that the best experiences I''ve had as an investor come from knowing someone a long time, I might go to events that are more around a specialty, like software development or design.

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Valuing My Own Time and Saying No

This is going to be BIG.

Takes an hour or an hour and a half at most and everyone gets the benefit of a public conversation--versus three or four hours of pitches. Those kinds of requests feel desperate and not only undermine their pitch, but it''s still real time that adds up. I rarely go to other people''s after work events if I''m not speaking.

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