The Term Sheet: A Startup Thriller Novel by Lucas Carlson Page B

at revolutionizing online email security. After reading about Cryptobit’s approach, he went to the homepage to sign up for the beta. He entered an email address: [email protected].

Chapter 16
    “ D o you think we have a chance in hell?” asked Andrew.
    “Winners are the ones left standing,” said Andrea.
    David and Andrew were standing in Andrea’s corner office overlooking the Willamette River explaining their traction and their recent call with the Pitch Deck producers. The producers had talked to David a few more times. Every time they called, they asked David all sorts of questions that seemed strange. Questions about Megan and their relationship. How long had they been dating? Did they fight a lot? What was the hardest thing they had ever overcome? They also wanted to know about David’s sister. When did she learn about the disease? How did their parents take it? The producers seemed much more interested in David’s backstory than the fledgling company.
    David asked: “So how do you come up with a good investor pitch?”
    “You have to remember that fundraising is first and foremost about people, not companies. It’s about people trusting other people. In fact, if you think about it, it’s actually pretty absurd that you could stand in front of these investors for just a few minutes and walk away with a check for hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. Out of context, that sounds pretty crazy. Right? You might even think someone who would so readily part with so much money was insane. But they aren’t crazy, they’re just trying to find people they feel they can trust.”
    David started scribbling notes on a yellow legal pad. “And how do you get someone to trust you?”
    “Well, let me tell you a little story, David.” Andrea pulled a chair out and signaled for David to sit down. Andrew pulled a second chair out and sat down without any provoking. “You don’t need notes for this part. The first time I started a company, I was about your age. My hair went down to my hips, and I was as bright-eyed and starry-eyed as you two are today. My idea was ahead of its time, it was the Internet of Everything. It could connect toasters with microwaves and refrigerators over Internet protocols. If I had just picked thermostats instead of toasters, I might have been Nest. But I have always loved cooking and so I focused on the kitchen first.”
    “That’s a great idea, Andrea.” Andrew chuckled. “Hell, you should start that company today. How long ago was this?”
    “The mid-nineties.”
    “Oh. Way ahead of your time.”
    “So I had a geeky friend of mine build me a prototype. It was an old a toaster with a huge 14.4 baud modem stuck on the back. We went to the only venture capitalist I knew: Frank Wilson. I told Frank why he should invest. I explained that the toaster could call the fire station if it caught on fire. I told him that it could detect the done-ness of the toast and turn off automatically. I listed all the reasons I could think of for how this toaster would change the world. Do you know what Frank told me?”
    “Yes?” said Andrew. “But then he offered only half the money you wanted.”
    “No. None of the money I wanted.”
    “Because you didn’t have a big enough team?”
    “No.”
    “Then he must not have understood the technology?”
    “No, Frank was an investor in Geocities and comScore. He understood technology better than most.”
    “Then why?”
    “He said I was too focused on the solution, not on the problem. I was so busy giving him a list of features, like reading a brochure, that I forgot to answer the basics first. Like what was the big problem with toasters today? He said I needed to study the market more. What was so frustrating about toasters that they need internet access? I had also used up forty-five minutes talking just about the toaster’s features, which left me no time to get to know him or let him get to know me. If fundraising is primarily