May 14, 2015 · 20m · 20vc
20 VC 036: The Pitching Process: From Email to Term Sheet with Stephan von Perger @ Wellington Partners
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
In this episode of The 20 Minute VC, host Harry Stebbings interviews Stephan von Perger of Wellington Partners to dissect the startup fundraising lifecycle, offering practical guidance on outreach tactics, pitch meeting dynamics, market sizing, and investor evaluation criteria.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Harry holds 19.4% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
Harry as informed peer 1.3 Guest teaching 3.0 Guest disagreement 0.3 Harry pushing back 0.1
speaking balance: gold is Harry, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 6:19 Critique of Cash Stockpiling
Stefan expresses mild disagreement with hoarding cash without immediate ROI, pointing to Slack's massive reserves as counterintuitive from an investor perspective.
Hardest push from Harry ▶ 6:13 Challenging Capital AllocationHarry pushes back on minimal capital raising by questioning whether VCs mind startups stockpiling money as a defensive buffer against bad economic times.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 13:22 Reframing Addressable Market SizeStefan corrects the premise around absolute market size limits by explaining that accounting for realistic take rates often reveals a much smaller addressable market than founders claim.
Harry holds his own ▶ 6:13 Probing Cash Reserves StrategyHarry demonstrates market awareness by raising the pragmatic founder strategy of building reserves during favorable fundraising climates.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Harry as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Harry pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stephan von Perger's Career Trajectory from Tech to VC | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Harry asks friendly background questions about Stefan's transition from consulting and operating roles into VC. Stefan details his journey through McKinsey, StylistPick, and CityMapper without any dynamic tension. | |
| Assessing When and Why Startups Should Seek VC Funding | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | Stefan explains the milestone-based rationale for seeking VC funding. Harry probes on whether investors object to cash stockpiling, prompting Stefan to offer a mild critique of hoarding cash using Slack as an example. | |
| Strategies for Connecting with VCs and Crafting Effective Pitches | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Stefan provides guidance on securing introductions and crafting targeted pitch emails rather than sending cold blast emails. Harry facilitates the discussion with prompt questions. | |
| Navigating Pitch Meetings and Building Investor Relationships | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Harry asks about required pitch documentation and how founders can maximize initial pitch meetings. Stefan outlines deck lengths, storytelling emphasis, and interpersonal dynamics. | |
| Investor Value Beyond Capital and Realistic Market Sizing | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | Harry inquires about non-monetary VC value add and market sizing parameters. Stefan reframes 'too small' market sizes by explaining how addressability and business models like marketplace commissions dictate real market scale. | |
| Managing Post-Pitch Communication and Receiving Rejections | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Harry asks about post-meeting follow-up protocols and how rejections are delivered. Stefan outlines constructive follow-up strategies involving milestone updates and explains why transparent rejections occur. | |
| Quick Fire Round and Onfido Investment Analysis | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | In the quick-fire segment, Stefan details what attracts him in pitch decks and shares the thesis behind Wellington's investment in Onfido. The conversation remains entirely collaborative. |
Statements from this episode (11)
Von Perger: University students now prefer founding startups over banking
“I probably, you know, when I was a student, everybody would have said, I want to be a banker, and I want to be a consultant. And nowadays, a lot of them say, hey, I want to set up a business”
Von Perger: Slack's strategy of stockpiling cash is counterintuitive
“So I think stockpiling the way a company like Slack is doing it at the moment seems counterintuitive from my point of view.”
Von Perger: Founders should raise extra capital when valuation terms are favorable
“If you can raise at decent terms i.e. A good enough valuation without giving away too much equity, it's probably a good idea to raise now, even if it's a little bit more than what you need.”
Von Perger: Founders should rely on trusted third parties to lobby VCs
“But it's really all about getting getting other people to sort of lobby for you.”
Von Perger: Prepare 10 to 25 pitch slides but focus on narrative
“When I go to a meeting as a founder, I would probably have something between 10 and 25 pages with me to explain all the important aspects of the business. But Not necessarily look at every slide during the one hour meetings, typically a one hour meeting, but r…”
Von Perger: Founders must follow up on every VC introduction offer
“A lot of investors will talk about all the introductions they can make. And I always recommend people to really follow up on that and, you know, not let any offer for an introduction to a potential customer or potential portfolio company, et cetera, like slip …”
Von Perger: Answering initial VC feedback demonstrates founder coachability
“Because when you go for that second meeting or second call and you can, Show that you've listened to the questions and the feedback in the first interaction and kind of, you know, bring good answers to those questions. I think that's a really powerful way of s…”
Von Perger: Realistic market sizing matters more than arbitrarily huge numbers
“So I think being clear and being honest to yourself when you estimate a market is actually more important than showing that it's huge, because it's relatively easy to just make up something really big.”
Von Perger: VCs evaluate five to ten active deals simultaneously
“While for you, the business is like, The one thing for the investor, it's probably one of five or 10 things they're currently looking at.”
Von Perger: Startup pitch follow-ups should highlight fresh traction milestones
“I would include success stories. So by the way, we've signed, you know three more clients and we've had a real good new hire. To make it really worth the while for the investor to think, ah, you know, even if I wasn't so excited the first time sort of to get r…”