“I Can Really See Us Leading This Funding Round” Isn’t a Term Sheet

Why VCs Are Always ‘Very Excited’ About Your Progress But That Doesn’t Mean Anything Until They Make an Offer

My job as an early stage investor includes translation services, specifically helping startup founders take what they are hearing from potential investors and providing a read on whether that VC is actually ready to make an offer. Quite often a CEO will share all sorts of positive comments and praise they heard from an investor, and I’ll remind them these statements aren’t termsheets. Simply put, only a termsheet is a termsheet.

This reminder tweet set off a few good discussion threads that I wanted to capture and expand upon here.

Even experienced founders get ‘happy ears,’ not just first time founders

I definitely don’t blame founders for underestimating the distance between enthusiasm and a…