What’s Inside
Why virtual fundraising meetings fail to build investor trust
How startup founders show agility best in the room
Why VCs evaluate the team as much as the pitch
During the pandemic, I reported how VCs and entrepreneurs kept deals moving through digital meetings, with many firms taking advantage of the new way of doing business to expand into new geographies.
The activity proved that virtual communications worked, at least enough to keep capital flowing.
Now, post-pandemic and with return-to-office and hybrid orders in effect, video calls are still fine for introductions. But when it comes to winning over investors, nothing replaces being in the same room.
At a founders’ panel last week, Ivan Poupyrev of Archetype AI said pitching in person is “completely different.” He said virtual sessions distort signals. What feels like strong engagement may go nowhere, while an in-person conversation that felt shaky can spark the next step.
Sam De Brouwer of XY.AI Labs added another layer. She said a strong team is one that “can pivot” because everything is changing so fast in AI. That ability to adapt, to adjust in real time, is exactly what investors are looking for. And it reinforces a point I’ve reported for years: VCs don’t just fund an idea. They back the team.
Founders can’t fully demonstrate that kind of agility through a video window. They need to show it while they’re present, responding live to questions, challenges and the flow of the room.
That’s why investors spend time face-to-face with founders: to observe how they interact with employees in the office, how they behave grabbing a coffee, or what they’re like in a one-on-one. Those are signals they’ll never get from a virtual call.
The discussion, moderated by Natasha Allen of Foley & Lardner, was part of Signals: Fueling the Next Wave at Canopy designed to surface “signals” between annual TEDAI conferences (the next is coming in October).
It was the perfect backdrop for this reminder: investors like to say founder Relationships last longer than marriages. That rarely gets built over just a video feed.
And here’s the lesson for this Media Shot: fundraising is always more than the numbers in your deck. It’s about trust, connection and showing investors you can adapt in the moment. That comes through much better when founders and investors are in a room together.
🔶 Keep digital calls for intros, but move to in-person quickly.
🔶 Treat investor meetings as relationship building, not transactions.
🔶 Watch body language and interruptions; they reveal more than a smile on a screen.
🔶 Use conferences and salons as live test beds for your story.
That’s your Media Shot for this week. Make yours count.
I work with founders and investors to sharpen pitch decks, prep for media interviews, and build stronger stories for customers and backers. If that’s on your plate, let’s talk.
