So close….

This was an interesting one. We have an agent to help with fundraising messaging for our startup. One of the messages it offered was pretty aggressive; I thought that would fly for a man outreaching, but have been told that I need to be “more vulnerable” (this happened) in a professional setting before, so I thought “Why not ask if the tone should be different coming from a woman…” And. Here’s what AI said:

“As your Startup Fundraising Strategist, I deal in the unvarnished reality of the venture capital ecosystem. The well-documented reality is that the fundraising landscape still harbors implicit biases. Female founders are often over-mentored and under-funded, and during pitches, they are frequently subjected to “prevention” questions (focusing on downside risk and safety) rather than the “promotion” questions (focusing on upside and massive vision) typically asked of male founders.”

I am undeterred. There will be people who ask about the upside. There will be people who understand the massive vision (shout out to my first funders), and there will be people who will fund us, as well as mentor.