Think Like a VC: Erik Torenberg's Favorite Seed-Raising Tips

Erik Torenberg @eriktorenberg · Village Global Investor Posted March 30, 2020
Fundraising StrategyFundraising PsychologyStorytellingMomentum & SignalingSeedHow-to
“Pretend you are a venture capitalist... then convince yourself that you'd invest if you were them.”
Erik Torenberg (@eriktorenberg), March 30, 2020. Short excerpt; the full thread belongs to its author.

What this teaches

A compilation of seed-raising heuristics anchored on a Paul Graham paraphrase: pretend you're the VC, adopt their incentives, and convince yourself you'd invest, then that you could convince your partners too.

Why it matters

A dense aggregation of the standard playbook from an operator-investor; useful as a canonical 'consensus advice' reference point.

Key lessons

  • Model the investor's incentives before pitching
  • Confidence must be argued from evidence you'd accept yourself

This is an editorial summary. The full thread, and the credit, belongs to Erik Torenberg.

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Goes deeper

  • Paul Graham's fundraising essays (paraphrased)
Village Global on VCMatch Erik Torenberg invests through Village Global. See the firm's stage, check size, and thesis on VCMatch. View investor →

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