Should I tell founders I'm not a check-writing decision maker at my part-time VC job?
I have a broad an amorphous mandate as a part-time employee at a name brand VC; the rest of my work is academic (e.g., PhD). I'm not however a check-writing decision maker but I do interface with founders. Sometimes I wonder if they take my calls because they think I'm a check-writer. Should I let them know upfront so they can decline the meeting if they think I have decision making to start full diligence? I have a meeting where someone is driving a decent distance so it made me wonder if I should tell him before he treks. However it was their idea to meet in person.
Absolutely do not volunteer that information. Do you want to be able to source interesting deals or not? Why would a good company invest time with you if you're already downplaying your ability to add value or get things done?
If you feel bad about this, keep in mind that the entire tech industry is held up by duct tape and half-truths. That same founder is probably going to hand you a deck saying they have an $80B TAM, enough pipeline to 4x this year without funding, and 20 "patent pending" product features.
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