Maybe it's an east-west dichotomy, but I once complained that funding applicants over dress! That 3-piece black suit? Come on! I can tell with one look that you're a flip flops and shorts type! So don't present yourself as someone you aren't!

So attire can help you or hurt you, but what are the correlates to funding success?
Based on what I hear and read:

1. Be a serial entrepreneur. Investors love entrepreneurs who have done it before, even if they weren't successful the last time around. We hope that the lessons you've learned will give you a leg up this time.

2. Establish trust. But how best to accomplish this? And notice we've just gone from an objective criteria: are you, or are you not, a serial entrepreneur; now here we are dealing with the subjective issue of trust. Add in, the way I understand it, trust is established in as little as 15 seconds! How can you project yourself in a trustworthy manner? This is probably a worthy topic for a post of its own, but since we're dealing with attire: dress appropriately and, to make me happy, no black suits please!

Maybe it's an east-west dichotomy, but I once complained that funding applicants over dress! That 3-piece black suit? Come on! I can tell with one look that you're a flip flops and shorts type! So don't present yourself as someone you aren't!

So attire can help you or hurt you, but what are the correlates to funding success?
Based on what I hear and read:

1. Be a serial entrepreneur. Investors love entrepreneurs who have done it before, even if they weren't successful the last time around. We hope that the lessons you've learned will give you a leg up this time.

2. Establish trust. But how best to accomplish this? And notice we've just gone from an objective criteria: are you, or are you not, a serial entrepreneur; now here we are dealing with the subjective issue of trust. Add in, the way I understand it, trust is established in as little as 15 seconds! How can you project yourself in a trustworthy manner? This is probably a worthy topic for a post of its own, but since we're dealing with attire: dress appropriately and, to make me happy, no black suits please!

Things out here in SF are much more casual, so I've bee doing the jeans and sports coat thing (the vc look), and its been working quite well.

That being said there are many investors that would say they like that the entrepreneur spends more time on their company that on their hair and looks.

Depends on what stage business you are in, and what types of VCs you are dealing with. As an entrepreneur I'd suggest you do some research ahead of time, and see what your VCs like to wear before you show up in flip flops claiming to be the next Facebook, unless you are the next Facebook….

Things out here in SF are much more casual, so I've bee doing the jeans and sports coat thing (the vc look), and its been working quite well.

That being said there are many investors that would say they like that the entrepreneur spends more time on their company that on their hair and looks.

Depends on what stage business you are in, and what types of VCs you are dealing with. As an entrepreneur I'd suggest you do some research ahead of time, and see what your VCs like to wear before you show up in flip flops claiming to be the next Facebook, unless you are the next Facebook….