As a general rule, no VC firm will respond to a cold email. You need an intro from someone they know. Your best bet is to try to get an intro from someone at a company they've invested in.
Isn't this the exact business that VCs are in? Identifying amazing offers?
You make the claim as if VCs are not in the business of looking for amazing deals, vs everyone else who is in infinite other businesses...
Yeah, there is the rule that intros are best - but still, why try to architect vision and innovation out of the VC market?
He was talking about how they (VCs) are not in the business of vetting ideas - but pursuing sure things. Yet all the rhetoric around the VC industry says otherwise.
(Also, the instructions on the form say it is for "other inquiries." You're supposed to send business plans to one of the email addresses on the right. So if you used the form that may be why you didn't hear back.)
VC public e-mail addresses == /dev/null .. they exist purely to appease the raging masses of entrepreneurs hanging outside their walls, reading Venturebeat ( fill in another 10 top " blogs " of your choice ) more than mails from their mum.
Cold calling any of them will not work. Heck even intros from the highest level are not treated that nicely if you're a first time guy.
Best place to be in, acquire unfair advantages like a yC tag and learn everything you can from insiders. Make a product that even in its most seed form shows a pathway to an entire industry. Get traction.
"If you're in a fair fight, you didn't plan it properly." - Nick Lappos, Chief R&D Pilot, Sikorsky Aircraft
They also made the point that they know lots of people and anyone should be able to network their way into a personal introduction, a trivially easy task compared with many other tasks needed for forming a startup, so they actively use that as a filter.
"Hi, I have an 'amazing' opportunity for you to invest 'early' in a new startup. I am willing to meet at time XXX or you can call me at XXX."
It is very likely that you will get ignored. In fact, I did send an email with a rough business plan about my previous startup to the above email before. And, someone from a16z replied me telling me that they were not interested in the market that I was in then.
Why don't you try to send an email with a real/concrete proposal about your startup/idea? It is more likely that you will get a reply from them in this way.
