One of the hardest things for women entrepreneurs is asking for money. This widespread weakness among women entrepreneurs is one of the main reasons why women-owned businesses face such a challenge joining the big league. To add to that, Venture Capitalists love to use ambiguous language. This week, The Daily Muse is to the rescue. They published a handy translation of the VC language and a way for women business-owners to use it to overcome that hurdle.
Do You Speak VC? A Beginner’s Guide to Investors
Raising money for my start-up has been one of the most challenging experiences of my entrepreneurial life. Not because there isn’t any money out there, and not even because pitching is difficult. The challenge lies in the nuances of hearing what a venture capitalist says—and then translating it to what she really means.
I call the language VCili (like Swahili, but more difficult to learn). It sounds something like this:
VC: “Love the team. Interesting product. I look forward to keeping in touch.”
Translation: “I don’t really get what you are doing, but if someone really popular invests in you, I’ll follow blindly.”
VC: “Interesting approach.”
Translation: “It’ll never work.”