What Founders Get Wrong About Picking VCs
with Greg Sands, Founder & Managing Partner at Costanoa Ventures
Summary
Greg Sands joins The Venture Variety Show to break down what early-stage founders often miss when choosing investors. From how to vet a VC beyond the pitch to why platform support only matters if it’s rooted in real context, Greg offers hard-won insights from decades in venture. We also discuss board dynamics, reference checks, and how to spot the difference between “founder-friendly” branding and actual long-term partnership.
Key Takeaways
Treat choosing a VC as seriously as they treat picking founders
Call references — especially when the company didn’t succeed
“Founder-friendly” is incomplete; look for company-aligned partners
Platform support is only valuable if tied to execution and context
Not all board seats are helpful — and some can hurt
Trust, learning velocity, and storytelling matter more than check size
Topics Covered
Choosing the right investor for your company
Vetting VCs through reference checks
What BuilderOps and platform support should actually deliver
Early-stage board composition and the 20/40/40 rule
Common fundraising misconceptions
Why now is still a great time to build
Chapters
00:00 Meet Greg Sands, Costanoa Ventures
01:58 What Founders Miss When Choosing a VC
06:21 How to Vet a VC Beyond the Pitch
09:06 What “Value-Add” Should Really Mean
10:26 Inside Platform Ops
17:01 Board Seats, Bad Advice, and What to Watch For
20:15 Final Takeaways
Keywords
venture capital, startup fundraising, platform teams, founder advice, board dynamics, Costanoa Ventures, reference checks, early-stage investing, VC value-add, storytelling
