Launching in a few hours: the VC question that killed 37 of 40 meetings

Hey all, launching here in a few hours.

Quick context: I led fundraising and U.S. market entry at an Asian deep-tech startup. We contacted 180 U.S. VCs, got 40 first meetings, and closed zero term sheets. This book is the honest record of that, not a highlight reel.

One thing I didn't expect going in: 37 of our 40 meetings ended at almost the exact same question, in the exact same order. It wasn't about the product. It was about the exit path, then structure, then whether our numbers actually told a consistent story. Valuation came up in maybe 3 of 40 meetings, by which point it usually didn't matter anymore.

Chapter 1 is free if you want to see how the first wall broke for us specifically.

Curious what others here hit first when a round stalled, was it the same pattern or something totally different for you?