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Why VCs Often Turn Away Promising Investments If you are rejected, don't automatically assume it's your business plan that's the issue. It could be the firm's approach to its fund's investment cycle.

By Sam Hogg

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

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True story: My VC firm just had a fantastic meeting with a potential investment. The company is in a sector we target; it has strong growth potential and a seasoned management team. Yet the meeting ended with us turning them down.

In VC speak, the reason behind the rejection went like this: "Our second fund's vintage necessitated a later-stage investment with liquidity prospects that better matched the LP-contractual investment and harvest period."

Translation? We need investments that are going to pay out sooner rather than later.