No Conviction Is Code for Something Founders Never Expect

What if the word "conviction" means something completely different to investors than it does to you as a founder? In this episode, Sean sits down with Vaughn Crowe, a founder-focused investor at MVP Capital, to unpack how investors really evaluate the people behind the pitch, not just the business itself. Vaughn explains how his team spends the majority of their diligence process trying to understand a founder's values, motivations, and personal history, because those factors reveal more about long-term potential than any deck ever could. You will also hear how Vaughn distinguishes between a founder whose business failed and a scammer, a line that is far more nuanced than most founders realise, and why the signals investors pick up on early in a conversation often tell them everything they need to know before a single number is reviewed. Check out the company: https://nvpcapital.com ────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 📚 NETWORK BEFORE YOU NEED IT (6 LESSONS THAT MADE SEAN $15M) ────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Get my brand new eBook free - https://welivetobuild.com/network ────────────────────── 📋 WORK WITH ME ────────────────────── ▶ Buy 300 Lessons From 300 Founders: https://welivetobuild.com/300-lessons-ebook ▶ Sponsor the Channel: https://www.welivetobuild.com/sponsorship ────────────────────── 🔗 CONNECT WITH SEAN ────────────────────── ▶ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/seanweisbrot ▶ Inquiries: welivetobuild@gmail.com ────────── 🕐 CHAPTERS ────────── 00:00 - Vaughn's Diligence Process for Spotting Fake Founders 03:37 - Founders Hiding Term Sheets: Vaughn's Honest Take 09:30 - Why Advisory Boards Raise Red Flags at Pre-Seed 17:54 - Founder Salaries Depend on Circumstances, Not Rules 21:50 - What VCs Still Offer Founders AI Can't Replace 24:26 - VCs Are Human — That's Why Feedback Is Vague 30:00 - "I Don't Have Conviction" Is Code for This 34:30 - Vaughn Starts 98% of Meetings with "Who Are You?"