This year I did my first "VC-dry Q1" — a quarter with zero VC meetings.

Refraining from interactions with VCs (it's hard to resist! "hey {first_name}, we love what you are building at {company}") brought me a lot of clarity. Once the silence settled in, I started to hear all these weak signals from our customers and prospects that were lost in the noise of hype before. I started to make decisions for them, only for them, not for the bold insights of my investor deck. And it’s already paid off in the two best currencies: customer love and ARR.

Sometimes, as a startup, you don't have enough hard data to raise money. So you have to recite what VCs want to hear (agents, anyone?). I'm not criticizing: I've been there, which entrepreneur hasn't?

But if you play this game too long, you lose yourself. You end up drinking your own Kool-Aid. Your McKinsey inner-self will select a GTM strategy just because it's making your differentiation slide better.

Do you guys agree?