At the Techcrunch 50 event, they had a panel of VC's answering 20 questions on a wide variety of subjects.  You can read the full text here or watch the video but i think the following exchanges go a long way towards understanding how VC's think when it comes to evaluating entrepreneurs and pitches: Schonfeld: What are the most common mistakes by entrepreneurs in pitches or in the early stages of a business? Levinsohn - if you can’t tell the story in a couple of sentences, its a problem. You need a story. Pincus asks what percentage of investments are made on formal pitches versus connections. Levinsohn says more formal pitches because they are fairly new. Zachary: Whatever the mistakes, recognizing them quickly is important. Botha: Number 1 indicator of entrepreneurial success is how good of a listener they are? Mandal: In a pitch, make sure you prepare and understand your audience. Also, realize that VC decisions are largely emotional, you have to tell a story and connect with the VC. Question: Number one indicator of success in a company? Botha says good listener. Thiel says low paid CEO. Zachary: A good team that doesn’t want to take too much money early. Shows they believe in themselves. Levinsohn: A sincere passion for the product. Mandal: People. And honesty. Kapoor: Ability to adapt