He left out an important one: sometimes VCs say no by saying yes. It goes like this:
VC response: We're really interested and we want to do the deal, we just need to wait to hear from partner X who is currently out of town.
Translation: We are about to fund one of your competitors, and we want to string you along as far as possible in the hopes that we can distract you from other fundraising efforts so that you will be less of a threat to our baby.
Comment: It's not a "yes" until the check clears. (And even then you should probably wait two weeks just to be sure.)
Yeah, the most successful business people you've never heard of will rarely if ever come out with an explicit denial (the ones you have heard of may also practice non-denial generally, but are playing by somewhat different rules).
Saying "no" makes people really mad. People remember how you made them feel, not necessarily what you said or did. Thus, it is most important to look after the feelings of the people you contact, even at the cost of saying or doing things disingenuously.
If you make people feel like you're interested in them and their ideas, that's much better than making an enemy who has sworn to prove you wrong. The best way to do this is to make them think you're 100% on board and that you're only being stopped by a technicality or some high-friction process that you're helpless to overcome.
Only a relatively small handful of people will eventually put two and two together and realize that you're intentionally stringing them on; most people prefer to believe the flattering interpretation that the deal is pending, it's just hung up somewhere along the way.
The reluctance of <AVERAGE_PERSON> to misrepresent things for commercial or political convenience only allows those with fewer scruples to rise to the top of the heap.
Their website states we "We’re based in Berlin, but we invest all over the world." but I got their rejection letter:
"Sorry, We do not invest in India"
Apparently, India is out of this world.
My startup is registered in Silicon Valley and I am not even an Indian resident or citizen.
That's a both clever and dirty trick. But unfortunately, few businessmen care about ethics.
Recently there was a post on HN about the reasons you should have a start-up. I wonder if starting a startup always requires these sorts of "Social Engineering Hacks"?
VC response: We're really interested and we want to do the deal, we just need to wait to hear from partner X who is currently out of town.
Translation: We are about to fund one of your competitors, and we want to string you along as far as possible in the hopes that we can distract you from other fundraising efforts so that you will be less of a threat to our baby.
Comment: It's not a "yes" until the check clears. (And even then you should probably wait two weeks just to be sure.)