Short advice from Jason M. Lemkin (YouTube) on negotiating with investors: when you have competing term sheets you can push to get an offer faster, but do so confidently and without applying excessive pressure; over-aggressive tactics or fake urgency can drive investors away. Emphasis on founder confidence in product, financial model, and pitch while balancing negotiation tact.
Do you have two term sheets? On terms you like, you can be a little aggressive on the third. You can say, I need an offer by Friday, by tomorrow, by this afternoon. But I see too many founders sort of fake it, and maybe they're nervous and maybe they haven't done it before. Maybe they got bad advice on YouTube or on the Internet. But don't go in too strong. Be confident of what you have. Be confident about your future. Be confident about your financial model. Be confident about your pitch. But don't put investors under excessive pressure to write a check. Or they may just walk for that reason. By the same token, this is tricky.
