Stop Ignoring the Associate
A junior VC emails you for a meeting. You look at their title. Associate. Principal. Not a partner. You ignore it.
Marc Andreessen says you just made a huge mistake.
One theory: only talk to senior partners. They can pull the trigger. The counter is — junior VCs become senior VCs.
How VC Firms Actually Work
Here's what most founders don't understand about venture capital. Partners don't find deals. They evaluate deals that someone else found.
The junior people are the scouts. They're out in the market. They're at the meetups. They're reading the blogs. They find the companies first.
Partners don't find deals. Junior VCs do.
The Hunger Factor
A partner at Sequoia has nothing to prove. They've already made their name. They can afford to pass on your deal.
The junior person? They need a win. They need to prove they can spot talent. That hunger makes them your biggest advocate inside the firm.
Junior VCs need a win. That makes them your best advocates.
The Internal Champion You Need
Getting a check from a top VC firm isn't about one meeting with a partner. It's about having someone inside who fights for you in the Monday meeting.
That someone is the junior person who found you. They'll stake their reputation on your company. A partner never will on a cold deal.
You need someone inside the firm willing to stake their reputation on you.
Take Every Meeting
Andreessen's advice is simple. Take the meeting. Every meeting. You never know who becomes a partner next year. You never know who's whispering in the right ear.
The startup game is a long game. The associate who believes in you today could write you a $50 million check in five years.
Today's associate is tomorrow's partner. Take the meeting.