VCs are slowly becoming more comfortable with virtual deals, so the Zoom pitch meeting becomes more important. And look, it's bad for both parties. A few thoughts on the dreaded zoom fundraising pitch meeting. Yep, you guessed it. A thread

1/ My three TLDR tips: 1. Build the relationship well in advance of the pitch. 2. Make sure the folks you are pitching could potentially be relevant for your business (always important but even more so in current environment) 3. Create interactive environment of engagement.

2/ Folks have a short attention span and being on Zoom all day only exacerbates it. Couple that with fatigue from being on video calls today, it makes for rough pitch environment. Distractibility is also extra high w/ notifications flying in and out at all times.

3/ Ideally, you build the relationship with a group of VCs well in advance of the fundraising pitch. Have calls over the several months leading up to raise, so that by time pitch comes, they have an interest in you as a person and have some background on the biz.

4/ You need to be choosy in selecting who you pitch. Does VC have experience and/or interest in space? Aside from this being good fundraising practice in general, it's critical for zoom pitch because it hopefully means you can use their experience to engage more meaningfully.

5/ The worst thing you can do is throw up a pitch deck and walk them through it for an hour straight. This actually encourages them to give way to all those distractions. You gotta lead them to water. Create an interactive setting where you can engage with the VC.

6/ If you've already gotten to know them, this is infinitely easier. But how do you do that if you haven't? Ask questions, prompt discussion, and pose thoughtful debate. You can always send the pitch deck after the fact, but you need them engaged so you know they are listening.