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10 Lies VCs Know You're Telling

In the quest for capital, many entrepreneurs stretch the truth. One venture capitalist calls them out.

learn more about Guy Kawasaki

By Guy Kawasaki •

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

As a venture capitalist, I get pitched dozens of times every year, and every pitch contains at least three or four of the lies below. Are you guilty?

1. "Our projections are conservative."An entrepreneur's projections are never conservative. If they were, they would be $0. I have never seen an entrepreneur achieve even their most conservative projections. As a rule of thumb, when I see a projection, I add one year to delivery time and multiply by 0.1.

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