The "Intangible" Game: How VCs See You

A venture capitalist argues that investors often decide on a founder based on intangible qualities such as grit, a compulsion to build, authentic care about the market, and leadership, and that these perceptions often matter more than the technology or market. The author says investors' initial reaction to a pitch can determine the outcome, and that most VCs rarely state the real reason they pass. The author, who says they wrote 148 pitch decks as a founder and sees thousands of deals a year, cites Jensen Huang's statement that he would not start a company again as an example of how hard founding is. The article also quotes Naval Ravikant's line that you escape competition through authenticity.