One lesson I learned the hard way as a founder is that investors never like to say “no.” They especially don’t like to say “yes,” but “no” is almost as difficult to get out of them.
Why? Well, because they never want to completely close the door on what could eventually be a massive missed opportunity. Or, if all of a sudden you get Andreessen Horowitz to pony up, they want to be able to change their mind and jump back in.