The blog

Field notes on evaluating startups.

How decks get scored, what investors weigh first, and why the hundredth read is the one that decides who gets missed.

Evaluation
Post 01 of 9 · 6 min read

Innovation doesn’t die in the market. It dies in the inbox

We like to believe great ideas are undeniable. That cream rises. Then you sit on the other side of the table.

Read more →
Evaluation
Post 02 of 9 · 5 min read

The best startup you passed on didn’t have a bad idea. It had a bad slide 7

A thought that should make every investor slightly uncomfortable: most rejections aren’t about the business. They’re about the packaging.

Read more →
Screening
Post 03 of 9 · 5 min read

Your screening process isn’t objective. It’s just tired

Nobody wants to admit this, so I will: deck #3 and deck #33 don’t get the same reviewer.

Read more →
Process
Post 04 of 9 · 4 min read

A 90-second review isn’t diligence. It’s a coin flip dressed up as judgment

An investor spends about two minutes on a deck the first time. Often less.

Read more →
Decision Making
Post 05 of 9 · 5 min read

The whole point of a pitch deck is to help you say no. That should bother us

Something I’ve made peace with, reluctantly: most evaluation is built to reject, not to discover.

Read more →
Decision Making
Post 06 of 9 · 5 min read

Two of your sharpest partners scored the same deck. One said 8. One said 3

And both could defend their number. That’s the uncomfortable part.

Read more →
AI & Venture
Post 07 of 9 · 5 min read

Everyone says they screen with AI. Almost nobody actually does

There’s a gap between what funds say about AI and what happens in the inbox.

Read more →
AI & Venture
Post 08 of 9 · 5 min read

AI should read every slide. It should never make the call

Let me be honest about where AI helps in evaluation — and where it doesn’t.

Read more →
Bias
Post 09 of 9 · 5 min read

“AI removes bias” is a comforting lie. Here’s the honest version

The pitch you’ll hear: AI makes evaluation objective. It’s not that simple, and pretending otherwise insults a smart audience.

Read more →