oxyona
When random isn't fair
Death, Doom, and Disaster - and why that's not the state of the economy
Specs vs. Constraints
Roadblock analysis and the 80/20 rule
Microsoft played Yahoo, and they're totally playing you too
Re:Ask PG: How do you tell a VC you're not ready for them yet?
on Saturday September 27, 2008 @06:21PM (#317203)
So, you don't need the money but people might want to give you some anyway? That sounds like a great problem to have :)
The worst thing you can do with a VC, or with any potential client or partner, is to give them a bad experience. "Sorry, we don't need any money right now, but we'll keep you in mind," is a great answer. "Here's a half-baked business plan (or product) that even we don't like yet," is always a terrible answer. "Here's a good business plan, but we don't need any money so we're not really excited about proceeding," is pretty bad too.
Just brush them off nicely. Take them to lunch for a chat if you want. Make it clear you're not looking for funding right now, but you might be eventually, and you'd like to get their input right away. Wouldn't you think it was great if a VC did that to you?