Whether it’s in their minds or on paper, VCs have secret checklists they use to make funding decisions. And these checklists do not apply equally to every founder they meet. I learned this firsthand, and the data bears it out.

In a survey by Morgan Stanley, 24% of investors said that a confident applicant and convincing pitch is important when considering a women-owned business. Similarly, 23% said an applicant’s confidence and persuasiveness was important when considering a minority-owned business. Yet, only 14% said the applicant’s confidence and persuasiveness were important when considering businesses in general.

Put simply, if you’re a person of color or a woman (or both), you’re on a different, more difficult checklist.

Just as bad, if you’re not fortunate enough to be able to finance an advanced degree from an Ivy League or top-tier school, you’re not on the checklist. Simply having a degree from the same school as a VC — which says nothing about your competence — increases the chances that VC will want to work with you.

The same checklist applies to the market your product targets. For example, one of the VCs who was gracious enough to provide solid feedback told me that many of my competitors say they’re part of the 3-trillion-dollar healthcare industry while I say I’m part of the 10-billion-dollar fitness industry.

Nerissa Zhang

Writing since February 2022 · 1 story contributed