The investor nodded for forty minutes. He said the team was impressive. He asked you to keep him posted. Two weeks later, nothing.
He is busy. That part is true. The silence has a sharper cause. He walked out of your meeting without one argument he could defend in the Monday partner meeting.
The meeting you never attend
The person you pitch is rarely the person who decides. He has to bring your company to a room of partners and argue for it. Those partners never met you. They will attack the weakest point in his story within two minutes.
If he cannot answer them, he drops the deal quietly. Ghosting is cheaper for him than explaining.
The Partner Memo Test
Before your next meeting, write the internal memo he would need to write. One page. Five lines.
- The bet: one sentence on what this company becomes if it works.
- Why now: the shift that makes this possible today and impossible three years ago.
- The proof: the single strongest piece of evidence you have. One number, one customer, one signal.
- The risk: the biggest objection, named by you, with your answer.
- The milestone: what this round buys and why that unlocks the next one.
If any line takes you more than one sentence, that is the line killing your follow up.
Hand him the memo
Your deck and your pitch should deliver these five lines in that order. Your follow up email should repeat them in plain text, so he can forward it untouched.
Make his job easy. A champion with a ready argument fights for you. A champion with a vague feeling waits for someone else to go first.
The fastest way to find the hole
In a 30 minute strategy session I run your case through this test and tell you exactly which line breaks. You leave with the fix and the next move.