The One Deep Secret No VC Will Publicly Tell You!
Rejections Are Rarely Final—They’re Just Quiet Invitations to Stay Visible
Let me tell you a truth from inside the venture capital world that almost no VC will say publicly:
Most rejections from VCs aren’t real rejections.
They’re usually just “Not now. Let’s see how things go.”
But what shocks me is how few founders follow through after hearing that quiet no.
What I’ve Seen in Just the Last 100 Days
In the last 100 days, 67+ startups crossed my desk and went through our internal pipeline.
From those:
19–20 were strong enough to be presented to our Investment Committee (IC), meaning all General Partners saw them.
We spent time debating these.
We respected these founders.
Some of them got a “no.”
Some were “shelved,” which means not yet, let’s keep an eye out.
Now here’s the real kicker:
Out of all 67 startups... Only 3 ever followed up.
Three.
That means 64 founders disappeared after hearing a “not now” or a “we’ll pass for now.”
Think about that.
And this isn’t unique to us. This is how it works at nearly every firm.
The "Shelf" Every VC Has (But Doesn’t Talk About)
When we “shelf” a company, we’re not rejecting it.
We’re saying:
It’s early, but promising.
We like the team, but not the market timing.
Traction isn’t strong enough yet.
We want to see more proof points before leaning in.
We have an internal watchlist.
It’s a spreadsheet, a Notion doc, a tracker—whatever format each VC uses.
And guess what goes into that list?
Startups that impressed us but didn’t hit the “invest now” bar.
So what do we do?
We wait.
We watch.
But here’s what we don’t do: Chase you.
What Happens When You Don’t Update Us?
We forget.
Not because we’re rude or arrogant—because we’re human.
Founders are always moving fast. VCs too.
But in a sea of noise, the ones who stay visible... win.
When you go quiet after a rejection, you voluntarily eliminate yourself from future consideration.
What Happens When You Do an Update?
You show us you’re the kind of founder who doesn’t give up.
You make us say,
“They’re executing fast.”
“They just doubled their revenue in 6 weeks.”
“They’re winning in a down market. Let’s re-look.”
Those are the deals that come back to IC.
Those are the founders who get second chances.
Real World-Class Examples of This Playing Out
Airbnb
Rejected by top-tier VCs, including Sequoia.
They stayed consistent, showed traction, and improved margins.
Sequoia came back and led their Series A. A total reversal.
Instacart
Originally rejected by Y Combinator.
The founder didn’t disappear.
He followed up with a new version of the product and traction numbers. YC changed their mind and let them into a later batch.
Brex
Over 60 rejections.
The founders created an investor update list and sent monthly performance notes.
Those same firms came back. Accel and Ribbit Capital invested.
Ro (Roman)
Zachariah Reitano built a habit: monthly updates to 80+ investors.
Rejections turned into warm intros. Warm intros turned into checks.
Momentum is created through follow-up.
Why Most Founders Don’t Do This - I Didn’t Too When I Was a Founder
Because it feels awkward.
You think:
“They passed, so they don’t care.”
“I’ll only share good news when I raise.”
“I don’t want to spam anyone.”
But the truth is:
Follow-up is not spam.
Silence is forgettable.
Visibility compounds.
You’re not annoying us.
You’re helping us do our job better—tracking execution.
What a Follow-Up Can Look Like (Takes 10–15 Minutes)
Subject: [Startup Name] – Monthly Update – June 2025
Hi [Investor Name],
Thanks again for taking the time earlier. I know we didn’t align then, but I wanted to share a quick progress update:
MRR: $18.5k → $32k in 6 weeks (up 72 percent)
CAC down by 36 percent
Signed a new deal with [Well-Known Client]
Hired former Careem Product Lead
Launched v2 of the dashboard (average session time up 41 percent)
We’ll keep sending monthly updates—just want to stay top-of-mind if timing aligns later on.
Cheers,
[Founder Name]
[Deck] | [Website] | [LinkedIn]
That’s it.
Nothing fancy. But that small email can change everything.
What This Signals to Us as Investors
You’re resilient
You know how to communicate
You’re hitting goals
You’re improving where we had doubts
You’re still in the game
That’s how you go from a “pass” to a “wait, let’s relook.”
My Final Take as a VC
In this industry, timing is everything.
We pass on good companies all the time—not because they’re bad, but because the market’s not right or we don’t have capacity that quarter.
If you disappear after one no, you’re missing out on one of the most important pieces of fundraising:
Top-of-mind = top-of-deck.
We talk to hundreds of founders a quarter.
Only a few stay in our memory.
Guess which ones get the call when dealflow dries up?
My Suggestion to Founders
Create a lightweight investor update template
Send monthly or milestone updates to all investors who passed
Track who opens your emails
After 3 months of consistent growth, ask if they'd re-review the deck
Simple.
Effective.
Rare.
If you’re building in fintech, climate, or frontier markets, send me your update at mohid@venturesouq.com.
Even if we passed.
Especially if we passed.
We’re watching—and remembering who stays visible.
Direct to the point......
No faking......
Good writing 💥