Viral X Thread Collects Founders' VC Pitch Horror Stories — and Some VCs' Responses

A week-long conversation on X collected dozens of accounts from founders describing venture capitalists falling asleep during pitch meetings, pulling term sheets at the last minute, and making unusual demands. Greg Isenberg, a startup podcaster, newsletter writer, and founder of Late Checkout Studio, started the thread with his own story.

He said he was pitching a $15 million Series A in a board room at a top-three VC firm with 12 people present when one general partner fell asleep for more than 30 minutes and no one acknowledged it.

VCs sleeping through meetings emerged as the most common story. Mark Pincus, founder of Zynga, wrote that he looked at the friend who arranged his meeting and asked whether he should continue presenting; she said yes, and the scene felt like “weekend at bernies” meets Silicon Valley.

Liz Wessel, who co-founded and sold HR startup WayUp and is now a partner at First Round Capital, described pitching a partnership in 2015.

One partner fell asleep and another scowled throughout the meeting, yet the firm called two hours after the investment committee to send a term sheet. Her team declined the money, and the VC was shocked. Multiple founders said they received term sheets from partners who had dozed off.

Others reported VCs signing term sheets then withdrawing or disappearing without wiring funds. Some of those same investors later asked for company updates, references, or a share of post-acquisition proceeds. Travis Kalanick, Uber co-founder, wrote that he once followed a VC who tried to leave the building and pitched from the passenger seat of the investor’s car.