7 things VCs won't tell you about why they passed on your deal. (from someone who used to sit in the room) 1. "we love the team" means we hate the market. if they loved both, you'd have a term sheet. 2. "come back when you have more traction" means come back never. if they wanted in, they'd preempt. traction is an excuse, not a milestone. 3. "we're not leading rounds right now" means we're not leading YOUR round. they led three deals last month. check crunchbase. 4. "our partner who covers this space is traveling" means we've already discussed it internally and it was a no. 5. "the valuation is a bit rich" is the only honest rejection in venture. respect it. it means they actually did the work. 6. "we have a conflict with a portfolio company" is sometimes true. but usually it means your competitor is winning and they already know. 7. the real reason 80% of deals get passed on: the partner couldn't explain it to the other partners in one sentence. ...