Startup funding game rigged: fake founder scores 4 VC meetings with no product

An Indian-origin UC Berkeley graduate, Khetan, exposed flaws in the startup funding ecosystem by creating a fake founder persona with no product, pitch, or deck.
He sent cold emails to 34 venture capitalists, receiving 27 replies and securing four meetings, simply by citing elite credentials and repeating the word "AI" three times.

In a viral post on X, Khetan wrote, "I made a fake founder persona. No product. No pitch. No deck. Just: Stanford CS, Ex-Palantir, and used the word 'AI' 3 times. Sent cold emails to 34 VCs. 27 replied. 4 asked for a call. This game is rigged in ways most people don’t understand."

His experiment highlights how venture capital interest often hinges more on pedigree and buzzwords than on actual substance or product viability.

Khetan's critique adds to growing concerns about early-stage startup evaluations, suggesting that branding and reputation can overshadow genuine innovation and potential.

This incident has sparked debate about the fairness and criteria of startup funding, questioning whether the current system favors style over substance and potentially sidelines deserving entrepreneurs without elite backgrounds or jargon-heavy pitches.

An Indian-origin UC Berkeley graduate posing as a fake startup founder with no product secured meetings with four venture capitalists by leveraging elite credentials and buzzwords, highlighting concerns that startup funding favors pedigree and jargon over substance.