Essay · 9 min read

Invest in Lines, Not Dots

Mark Suster · Both Sides of the Table Free Beginner

This is the original essay that coined "lines, not dots," the exact idea behind the opinionated answer. Suster (a VC who himself took 15+ meetings with a founder over two years before investing) argues that on a single meeting you are a dot with no track record, so a cold pitch during your raise is the weakest possible position. He tells founders point-blank to meet investors 6 months early, say you are not raising yet, and tell them what you will have achieved by the next meeting, so the investor watches you become a line.

• One meeting makes you a dot; investors gain conviction from a line of meetings that show you hitting what you said you would
• Meet target investors months before you raise, explicitly say you are not raising yet, and state what you will have done by next time
• If someone invests in you as a dot (fast, no diligence, max price), they are a dot to you too, and you barely know who now owns your cap table