Inside the VC Mind: Prime’s Fundraising Masterclass for Founders

Oct 7, 2025

Discover the secrets of venture capital from the investment team as they reveal how to navigate the fundraising maze. Learn why not every business is suitable for VC funding and the importance of personalizing your approach. Unpack common pitfalls in pitch decks and the essential elements every founder should include. Explore the interplay of skill and luck in VC success, and find out how to choose the right VC partner beyond just capital. This masterclass is packed with practical insights that could shape your fundraising journey!

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INSIGHT

The VC Funnel Is Extremely Selective

VCs see ~5,000 deals a year and invest in about five, so selection is extremely tight.
Founders must design outreach and materials to pass narrow early filters to win a meeting.

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ADVICE

Prioritize Referrals Over Cold Outreach

Get a referral to prioritize your outreach and dramatically increase response rates.
If you must cold-email, personalize with the investor's thesis or past investments and keep it concise.

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ADVICE

Use Monthly Updates To Build Recall

Send regular monthly updates to stay top of mind and show progress and persistence.
Consistent progress across updates often earns a call even after initial rejections.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Transitioning from Operator to VC

02:38 • 2min

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How Many Startups Do VCs See?

05:07 • 3min

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Best Ways to Reach Investors

07:56 • 3min

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Tips for Founders in Tier-2 Cities

10:59 • 4min

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Common Outreach Mistakes to Avoid

14:56 • 5min

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What Makes a Business VC-Fundable

19:30 • 4min

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Core Evaluation Criteria in First Pitches

23:32 • 3min

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Founder Quality and Market Fit Signals

26:40 • 4min

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How to Tell a Compelling Founder Story

30:40 • 6min

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What to Include in a Pitch Deck

37:02 • 3min

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Macro Timing and Fundraising Reality

40:03 • 1min

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How Early-Stage Valuations Are Set

41:28 • 4min

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Why Over-Optimizing Early Valuation Backfires

45:02 • 2min

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How Founders Should Pick VC Partners

46:55 • 5min

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ESOP Size and Allocation Guidance

51:32 • 1min

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How to Think About Angel Investors

52:50 • 3min

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Recommended Reading and Podcasts

55:48 • 5min

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Controversial VC Views and Skill vs. Luck

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Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts

Annie Duke

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Herman Hesse's "Siddhartha" is a philosophical novel that follows the spiritual journey of a young man named Siddhartha Gautama. The story explores themes of self-discovery, enlightenment, and the search for meaning beyond material possessions. Siddhartha's experiences with various aspects of life, including sensuality, asceticism, and worldly pursuits, lead him to a deeper understanding of himself and the universe. The novel's evocative prose and profound insights into the human condition have resonated with readers for generations. Hesse's exploration of spiritual awakening and the interconnectedness of all things makes "Siddhartha" a timeless classic.

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John Doerr's "Measure What Matters" explores the power of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) as a goal-setting system. The book showcases how OKRs have been used by companies like Google and Intel to achieve ambitious goals. Doerr emphasizes the importance of setting clear, measurable objectives and tracking progress regularly. The book also highlights the importance of aligning goals across teams and organizations. It provides a practical framework for setting and achieving ambitious goals in various contexts, including business and personal life.

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What I Learned about Investing from Darwin

Pulak Prasad

In this book, Pulak Prasad offers a unique approach to investing by leveraging principles from evolutionary biology. He argues that the investment profession is in crisis, with most equity fund managers unable to beat the market over the long term. Prasad draws lessons from Darwinian concepts, using examples such as bumblebees' survival strategies, experiments in breeding tame foxes, and a small frog’s mimicry of a larger rival to illustrate investment principles. He outlines three key mantras for investing: avoid big risks, buy high quality at a fair price, and don’t be lazy—be very lazy. The book advocates for permanently owning high-quality businesses and provides practical insights into how evolutionary strategies can improve investment decisions.

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• Mentioned in 34 episodes

The Power Law

Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future

Sebastian Mallaby

In 'The Power Law', Sebastian Mallaby provides a riveting and meticulously researched account of the venture capital industry. The book delves into the history of tech incubation in Silicon Valley and worldwide, featuring key figures from firms like Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins, Accel, Benchmark, and Andreessen Horowitz. It covers iconic successes and failures, such as the birth of Apple and the rise and fall of WeWork and Uber. Mallaby also examines the 'power law' that drives the VC business, where a few massive successes compensate for numerous failures. The book highlights the industry's influence on innovation, its biases, and the rising competition from China's venture capital sector.

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• Mentioned in 86 episodes

Apple in China

The Capture of the World's Greatest Company

Patrick McGee

For the first time ever, the Prime Venture Partners investment team — 1 Principal and 2 Vice Presidents — sit down to answer everything founders wish they could ask a VC face-to-face.

This isn’t theory. This is the real inside view of how venture capital works in India:

💸 How VCs actually pick the 5 startups that make it through

📉 The real reason your pitch deck isn’t working

💬 Why not every profitable business is “VC-fundable”

💭 And the timeless debate: is venture success skill or luck?

📊 Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction

05:51 – The VC funnel: 5,000 pitches → 5 investments

07:09 – How to reach a VC (referrals vs. cold outreach)

09:57 – Why not all great businesses are VC-fundable

14:20 – Founder mistakes that kill deals

18:20 – How much should you raise — and when

25:17 – Analysts & Associates: the real champions of deals

33:41 – The underrated power of monthly updates

39:49 – How founders should think about valuation

45:39 – How to pick your VC partner

50:00 – ESOPs, angels & early-stage strategy

56:00 – Skill vs. Luck — what really drives VC success

If you’re building a startup, fundraising, or even thinking about raising capital someday, this is your Fundraising Masterclass from inside the VC room.

🎧 Watch till the end for honest takes, funny moments, and practical insights that can shape your next raise.

#PrimeVenturesPartners #VentureCapital #StartupIndia #Founders #Fundraising #VCInsights #Entrepreneurship #StartupIndia #IndianStartups #RaisingCapital #PitchToVCs #StartupTips #PrimeVenturePartnersPodcast

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