EP#94: What VCs Say When Founders Aren’t in the Room. Eric Newcomer

Every week, another investor posts that there’s never been more money for great founders. Eric Newcomer runs an anonymous survey of top VCs and hosts the Cerebral Valley AI Summit, so he hears the version they don’t post. What he hears is a market split hard into haves and have-nots. That gap is where first-time founders make their worst calls, planning around a story that was never written for them. Maya walks away knowing how investors actually read a pitch, why one lead beats a hundred maybes, and how to filter the noise without bouncing between ten experts. Episode outline From a school newscast to first hire at The Information to going independent Why audiences trust people over brands, and what AI is doing to the inbox  Transparent bias versus the view from nowhere Haves and have-nots: who holds the leverage in venture right now VCs as energy-sensing machines, and why you only need one believer What anonymous VCs say about AI, robotics, energy and Anthropic Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTube Eric Newcomer - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericpnewcomer/ Founder of Newcomer, the startup and venture media company read by 100,000+ investors and operators. He spent six years covering tech for Bloomberg, breaking stories on Uber, Stripe, Sequoia and a16z, after starting out as the first employee at The Information. He also hosts the Cerebral Valley AI Summit and publishes a quarterly VC Sentiment Report built from anonymous interviews with top investors. Andy Walsh - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anwalsh/ Three-time founder with two exits who bootstrapped to $10M ARR, now host of Startups Decoded (top 2%, 850k+ downloads) and advising founders on growth through consulting and his podcast. Access All Areas. Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTube Subscribe: Substack Connect: LinkedIn Web: startupsdecoded.com  Socials: TikTok || Instagram || X Music Credit. “Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia) https://phondupe.bandcamp.com/album/air-conditioning-vol-2 Disclaimer. The views and opinions shared on Startups Decoded are for informational purposes only and do not constitute investment or legal advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making any financial or legal decisions.