Some counterpoints from my experience fundraising.
- I had a ton of success cold-emailing VCs. I was able to cold email my way into Accel, a16z, NEA, etc.
- I raised $16M through 3 rounds and was heavily oversubscribed in each round *without ever creating a deck*. My pitch was a conversation that included a compelling story I got really good at telling.
- No counterpoint on your third bullet. This is spot on. :-)
Agreed there are exceptions to the first two rules — the two best performing investments in my portfolio respectively are exceptions to #1 and #2. That said, these are the exception, not the rule.
• Out of ~70+ companies I've invested in, exactly one reached out cold (and I had already met the founder once before socially). I do take a look at each of the companies that reach out cold, but I'm bombarded with these email, so I give them about a tenth of the attention I can afford to give to someone who comes with a recommendation already.
• The best companies can raise without a deck if they have a strong personal connection or really good traction to get past the screening stage. In my mind, the deck is the most effective way to succinctly pitch a company before I meet the founder. We don't actually use it in the initial conversation.
