Founders share VC horror stories, and some are naming names
Key takeaways
- I was once pitching in a board room at a top 3 VC firm for a $15M Series A. 12 people in the meeting.
- VCs sleeping through pitch meetings was far and away the most common horror story shared.
- Zynga founder Mark Pincus told his VC-asleep story.
Asking venture capitalists for investment is a rite of passage for tech founders. This has led to another universal experience: the VC pitching horror story. A massive conversation sharing such stories has taken place all week on X with the comments both funny and infuriating. We read through them all to find the most interesting ones so you don t have to.
Greg Isenberg, a startup podcaster, newsletter writer, and founder of Late Checkout Studio — a holding company whose previous ventures include a company acquired by WeWork — got the conversation started with a story about a VC falling asleep during a pitch meeting. Isenberg has a large following on X, and his post clearly struck a nerve.
I was once pitching in a board room at a top 3 VC firm for a $15M Series A. 12 people in the meeting. One of the GPs fully fell asleep. Out cold for 30+ minutes. Nobody acknowledged it. Everyone just kept going, he shared on X.