Startup Fundraising: Crafting the Pitch, Building Trust & Ownership Auction – E554

“Great founders get to pick, and VCs have to differentiate, right? So great founders will say, ‘I’m looking for a VC that I have good personal chemistry with, sector experience, and someone who’s fast to give me the money.’ Speed matters. VCs, on the other hand, often think founders care most about the VC’s brand—whether it’s a big name like Andreessen Horowitz or Y Combinator. They still rank personal chemistry second, and speed third. So there’s a bit of a mismatch in priorities. For me, I think speed and cash are probably number one. If you're a founder and you raise money from a VC who gives you a $5 million check today, and no one else is bidding yet, and that check expires in one week—I think most founders will take that check.”- Jeremy Au, Host of BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast

“Selling to customers is really key—because if I have a hundred dollars, I’d rather earn a million dollars from my customers who’ll keep paying me, just by delivering the product, than take a million dollars from Jeremy in exchange for 20 percent of my company. Most founders under-allocate their time to building customer revenue and spend too much time chasing fundraising. The second point is that not all VC investors are the same. There are different tiers—some are really good, some are good but difficult, and some are not good at all. Worse, some will destroy value if you let them onto your cap table. It’s easier to get married and divorced than it is to bring in an investor and try to get them out.”- Jeremy Au, Host of BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast

“When someone says your idea doesn’t really make sense, that’s actually a good opportunity—it’s useful feedback you can use to improve how you articulate the future you believe in. Take Replica, for example. It’s an AI companion for lonely people. The founder believes that everyone will have their own AI best friend. Whether or not you agree, what stood out was how clearly she explained her logic. That’s what makes a pitch interesting—it’s not about everyone agreeing, it’s about making the future you envision easy to understand.”- Jeremy Au, Host of BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast

Jeremy Au discussed how pitching, trust, and fundraising work. He explained that pitching is about expressing a future others can believe in, not just raising money. He shared how traction builds trust, why capital must be chosen carefully, and how great founders turn investor interest into leverage. Drawing on examples like Rewind.ai and BenchSci, he laid out what separates good pitches from great businesses.