Ask HN: What usually happens after a VC asks for a demo?
7 comments
A day or two is nothing. Building these relationships takes time.
When I finished raising my pre-seed round I had a big list of investors that I had talked to, some a warm, some said no, some said yes. I always asked them if I could put them on my cool updated list, and then shared fun things with them (short emails - 4 sentences and a screenshot, hey look what we did!)
By the time it came to raise seed we were 2.5x oversubscribed in 2 weeks - because I had spent the previous year relationship building with all of them.
Remember VCs are reviewing a bunch of companies all at once, you are not the only thing they have to think about today.
Follow up in a few days, and send a short (20 seconds max) video attached in case they don’t have time to organise to see the demo.
VCs are busy so “do the work” for them, don’t ask a question - ask a question, anticipate the answer and then send the answer too.
These are long term relationships you are building so treat them as such.
When I finished raising my pre-seed round I had a big list of investors that I had talked to, some a warm, some said no, some said yes. I always asked them if I could put them on my cool updated list, and then shared fun things with them (short emails - 4 sentences and a screenshot, hey look what we did!)
By the time it came to raise seed we were 2.5x oversubscribed in 2 weeks - because I had spent the previous year relationship building with all of them.
Remember VCs are reviewing a bunch of companies all at once, you are not the only thing they have to think about today.
Follow up in a few days, and send a short (20 seconds max) video attached in case they don’t have time to organise to see the demo.
VCs are busy so “do the work” for them, don’t ask a question - ask a question, anticipate the answer and then send the answer too.
These are long term relationships you are building so treat them as such.
2 days is nothing, VCs move slower than founders think. Demo review usually takes 1-2 weeks: partner watches it, discusses in Monday meeting, maybe loops in domain expert, then decides next steps.
Silence for a week is normal. Silence for 3+ weeks without follow-up means soft pass. If you haven't heard anything in 10 days, polite check-in is fine.
The good ones understand that 3 weeks to a startup is like half a year to an established company, especially in the earliest stages. At a later stage, a VC may well take more time, but there's less damage and lower risk appetited.
Anyone with access to money can do VC, but generally past some point of slowness, good founders just don't take the money as it does more harm than good. It's also faster and cheaper to get to market these days, and there's too much opportunity cost going around for months asking people what they think for $100k instead of directly going to market.
Anyone with access to money can do VC, but generally past some point of slowness, good founders just don't take the money as it does more harm than good. It's also faster and cheaper to get to market these days, and there's too much opportunity cost going around for months asking people what they think for $100k instead of directly going to market.
They’re most likely reviewing it internally and will debrief at the next weekly meeting (probably Monday). If they have connections in your domain and to potential users, they may reach out and ask for feedback. For now, waiting patiently is probably the best move—unless you have significant new traction to share as an update.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlwwVuSUUfc
There's also that possibility.
There's also that possibility.
If there was serious interest, they would taken a next step by now. They won't give you a hard no unless you're an absolute joke.
They will wait and see if there's any deal heat.
Are you talking to other funds? You need to talk to as many funds as possible in a 2-3 week period to create leverage. Do not talk to a single or small number of funds in a process[0]. Best case they will snake the round at a discount, worst case you'll give up a ton of leverage and kill the process.
[0] unless you have close relationships with a stable of funds. you do not.
They will wait and see if there's any deal heat.
Are you talking to other funds? You need to talk to as many funds as possible in a 2-3 week period to create leverage. Do not talk to a single or small number of funds in a process[0]. Best case they will snake the round at a discount, worst case you'll give up a ton of leverage and kill the process.
[0] unless you have close relationships with a stable of funds. you do not.
a day or two means nothing. you can follow-up in about a week. In the mean time, talking to more VCs really helps both the outcome of each conversation and the founders' propensity to obsess over a specific conversation
For folks who’ve raised before or worked in VC: Is this typically just internal review time, or does silence after a demo usually signal a pass?
Not looking for validation, just trying to understand how this phase usually plays out.
Thanks.