She Hears Startup Pitches Everyday, These Are Her Tips For Future Founders in Today's Climate

Aditi Maliwal
Aditi Maliwal
She Hears Startup Pitches Everyday, These Are Her Tips For Future Founders in Today's Climate

I hear startup pitches every single day from startups looking for their next investment, and while I can say the pitch is definitely important, in many cases it's not the pitch, but the relationships you've made that help you get in the door. For me, building relationships is both the most...

I hear startup pitches every single day from startups looking for their next investment, and while I can say the pitch is definitely important, in many cases it's not the pitch, but the relationships you've made that help you get in the door. For me, building relationships is both the most enjoyable part of the job and key to my successes. The first deal I sourced and led was for PowerToFly, which came from my relationship with Andrea Hippeau at Lerer Hippeau. Andrea responded to a cold email that I sent her when I was trying to build my VC network in NYC. We became friends and set up a monthly call to discuss companies that we were both interested in. Lerer Hippeau had incubated and funded PowerToFly and introduced me to the founders. I loved the team and the company’s thesis of matching female talent to remote work. We eventually went on to lead their Series A in 2015.

In this chat, want you to walk away with...

  1. Strategies for networking during this unprecedented time
  2. Advice for finding the best investor for you
  3. Actionable steps to perfect your pitch once you're in the room

Meet The Speaker

Aditi Maliwal
Aditi Maliwal
Upfront Ventures

Aditi leverages her operating experience and global perspective to invest in and support the highest-potential founders and teams. Before joining Upfront, Aditi was a product manager on the Next Billion Users team at Google, in a hybrid role leading investments in and building product for companies in emerging markets. Previously she worked on the Corporate Development team at Google, leading acquisitions across various sectors including AI, Messaging and Media. Prior to Google she worked in early stage venture at Crosslink Capital leading investments in BetterUp, Chime and PowerToFly, and before that in investment banking at Deutsche Bank, in the technology banking group. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Stanford University and has lived between India, Hong Kong, Singapore and San Francisco.

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