Michael Deem at Khosla Ventures

I was an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) at Khosla Ventures (KV) for a year.  Here are 7 traps to avoid when pitching them.

Be arrogant.  Of course you are awesome!  That is why Khosla Ventures is talking to you.  So are the other 10 startup founders they saw today.  The best partners will treat you with great respect.  Do not abuse those gracious manners.

Be unprepared.  In a super-hot market, in a super-hot space, a couple young founders once pitched Vinod from a screen share of their X (Twitter) feed.  They almost got funded.  Far better to be prepared,  Think like lawyers do when preparing a case for the supreme court.  They practice for a year!  You do not have that time, but you can practice 100 times.

Lecture.  The team members at KV are really smart, knowledgeable, and passionate.  You do not want them to get the feeling you are lecturing to them.  Try to have a conversation.  Let them ask questions.  Try to clear their objections.

Be qualitative.  Try to answer with your opinion vs their opinion.  Try to answer with numbers.  Say “Let me show you the data.”

Have complicated slides.  Yes, one or two slides with data is good.  But try to keep to a relatively standard 10-15 slide format with standard headings.  Try not to waste some of your precious 30 minutes explaining the non-standard formation of your presentation.  Stick to a standard format, so that the unique features and unfair advantages of your startup capture the attention of KV.

Be late.  One partner is famous for ending a meeting, and never rebooking, if the founder is 10 minutes late.  People are busy.  Respect their time.

Expect KV to believe your checkbox competition slide.  KV already knows your checkbox competition slide will show you are the best.  You wrote it!  Consider instead talking about where the competition is going.  It is easy for your solution to beat the competition on the market now.  Your solution needs to beat the competition that will be on the market when your solution comes to the market (maybe in 3-5 years in the DeepTech space).

And … give up if you get a pass.  It is an honor to be considered by a tier-1 VC.  You just got 30 minutes of free consulting with a world expert.  Persistence is most of the key to success in business.

Your startup is awesome.  Frame your pitch presentation so that you have the best chance of funding.  I wish you luck!