How To Pitch Me
Guidelines
My goal with these guidelines is to save time for me and you:
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The best way to contact me is email: at@abrahamthomas.info
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I welcome cold emails! No need for a warm intro.
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Don’t send me text, LinkedIn, WhatsApp or Twitter messages; I may not respond. (And if I do, it will only be to ask that you move the conversation over to email.)
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Send me a brief message along with a deck or memo. No need to ask permission to send a deck.
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Your message should include the following baseline info: what the company does; founder background(s); company stage and traction; how much you’re raising; and at what valuation.
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If you have a secret or special insight into your market, unique expertise, or intriguing early signals of market pull / product validation, please mention them!
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I don’t sign NDAs, so please don’t ask.
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I treat founders with respect, and I ask that you reciprocate.
Process
I try to reach investment decisions using no more than 2 meetings and 2 weeks of calendar time, with the following steps:
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You email me your deck, including the baseline info specified above.
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I pass, or I send you 3-5 preliminary questions to gauge if this is a fit. The goal is to avoid wasting time for either of us.
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We do an intro meeting, in which you describe the vision, product, market, company, team, traction, tech, and macro trends (why now?).
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I pass, or I send you 10-12 deep-dive questions that examine the business more closely.
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We do a deep-dive meeting during which you answer these questions. (Or you can answer them by email if you prefer).
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I pass, or I commit to invest, and you accept using the YC handshake protocol.
Despite my best efforts, sometimes things slip; if I seem to drop the ball, please send me a nudge. Also, please send calendar invites with links or locations for all meetings.
Passing
My philosophy on passing:
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I don’t believe in “retaining optionality”. If I don’t plan to invest, I will let you know, explicitly.
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I invest in fewer than 1% of the companies I see, so please don’t take it personally if I don’t invest in yours.
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I try to provide thoughtful and actionable feedback on why I passed to all founders who I have at least a phone call with.
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Sometimes there may be a great company doing everything right that just isn’t a fit for me.
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I’m happy to stay in touch with companies I’ve passed on; feel free to add me to your update email list.
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Don’t ask me to introduce you to other investors if I’ve passed on your company; it’s not a good signal and won’t help you.