Abuzeid: Story and market vision drive VC deals, not traction
Iman Abuzeid · 20VC: Why Most Founders Do Not Structure Their Fundraise Correctly, The Pros Of Having An MBA As A Startup Founder & How To Manage The Psychology Of Being CEO and Overcome Self Doubt with Iman Abuzeid, Founder & CEO @ Incredible Health · Mar 6, 2020 · at 7:57
Dr. Iman Abuzeid, founder and CEO of Incredible Health, offers pitching insights based on her experience fundraising for her startup.
0:00 / 0:11exact quote · 11.8s
720p mp4 · rendered on demand · StarZero watermark
“I learned very quickly that traction isn't what gets deals done. What gets deals done is an amazing story with a huge vision, with a huge market that you're pursuing, and a very unique insight about how you're going to achieve it.”
quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →
More from Iman Abuzeid
Abuzeid adopted a privileged white male alter ego to project confidence
“I pretty much adopted an alter ego, and this alter ego actually happens to be a white male who, you know, who is highly privileged as well, because I had observed how members of that demographic operate. Like, I see them walking into a room, and the amount of …”
Diversity pipeline problems are an excuse; talent is evenly distributed
“When people say it's a pipeline problem, it sounds like a little, like an excuse to me. It's BS, honestly. If you look at the US or, you know, the world, talent is evenly distributed. Opportunities are not.”
Abuzeid: Homogeneous tech teams contain mediocrity by missing top talent across demographics
“I do truly believe that talent is evenly distributed, so what that means is that every single demographic, you're trying to hire the top five percent of white male men, or you're trying to hire the top five percent of Hispanic women, and so if you have a bunch…”
Pitch tier-three investors first to practice before meeting tier-one VCs
“You need to meet the Tier three investors first, then the tier two, and end with the tier one. It's very much like job interviews where, like, you practice on companies that you don't care about as much, and so the companies you really want, you leave them tow…”
Every startup CEO should hire a professional therapist to manage anxiety
“Honestly, I have a therapist, and I generally encourage all CEOs to just get one. There's a lot of anxiety and stress in this job, so whatever external professional support you can get is probably going to be quite helpful.”
Abuzeid: Assertiveness and confidence, not substance alone, close investment checks
“Even if your content and your substance is fantastic, adding that confidence and assertiveness is extremely helpful as well. And that really is what ultimately Ends up getting checks, or sales, or people signing up for your team.”