Learning to Listen

The VC stereotype, which is hilariously illustrated by Blueprint Ventures’ Gary Snoman, is an egotist that delivers presumptuous recommendations without spending much time to hear out a company’s business plan.  This persona is not far off for some VCs, many of whom are formerly successful operators who relied on a bit of hubris to achieve their prior success.

However, the most impressive VCs have the confidence to sit there and listen to a pitch, ask a few questions to help guide the discussion, synthesize the presentation, then save their advice for the latter part of the discussion.

It’s impossible for a VC to be an expert on every emerging business segment.  The entrepreneur plays in that space everyday and will need to pitch their service to clients without your help, so having the VC dominate the conversation is a waste of everyone’s time.

My two cents for other young VCs like myself or aspiring ones is that learning to listen is critical.  While VCs are most often being sold to, the best deals reverse those dynamics, and being a great listener will both demonstrate your respect for an entrepreneur and yield the most valuable data to assist your investment decision.