“Investors often don’t know WHY they’re saying NO.” — Paul Graham
VC funding is an absolute mess. Not because raising is hard...
But because founders waste months decoding fairy tales from people who only owe you one thing: clarity.
Here’s the ugly truth: The whole investor dance is a farce.
You pour sweat into a pitch, they bounce you a “no” wrapped in kindergarten logic:
↳ “Not our thesis right now.”
↳ “Come back after more traction.”
↳ “A bit too early for us.”
Bullshit.
None of it is actionable.
Most of it is just a cover for “I’m not interested, and I don’t actually know why.”
This is THE founding lie of startup fundraising:
If you just fix X, or say Y, or cut your burn, the money will flow.
So what do founders do?
They:
Butcher their deck every week,
Chase ghost feedback,
Pivot their roadmap for some bored associate,
And beg for more “helpful” nos.
You end up running on a hamster wheel of fake feedback, Frankensteining your company for people who never gave a sh*t in the first place.
That’s why at BuddiesHR, we never touched venture cash.
We saw the game for what it is:
a power-trip for VCs, a time sink for real builders.
Bootstrapped, profitable, and every inch of our company is ours.
We serve customers, not suits.
Stop begging investors to love you.
Stop rewiring your story after every rejection.
The only thing a VC “no” means is you get to move on.
That’s it.
Their reasons are noise, delays disguised as advice.
If you’re still out here refining your pitch for every flaky “come back later,” you’re not a founder, you’re just a puppet.
Reject the circus. Trust the “no.” Ignore their story.
Get back to building something real.
That’s the only signal you’ll ever need.
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👋 Hey, I'm J.Y!
I'm the co-founder of BuddiesHR, the #1 Employee Engagement Software that lives in Slack.
I post 1x a day about my journey and share what I've learned along the way.
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