Why VCs Really Pass on Novel Ideas (Even When They Say They Want Them)

By Lorde Astor West Founder & CEO at RadHash

Founders hear it all the time: “We invest in bold ideas.” But in the pitch room, “bold” often translates to “something I’ve seen work before.”

Jenny Fielding recently pointed out that generic go-to-market (GTM) slides are becoming a red flag for investors. She’s right. But here’s the part nobody says out loud: when founders do show up with something truly novel—whether it’s a GTM, business model, or underlying tech—it doesn’t get them a term sheet. It gets them a polite pass.

And not because it’s a bad idea. Because it doesn’t fit the mold.

Familiarity Bias is the Default

The venture industry talks a big game about backing innovation, but the truth is: most investors don’t fund what they don’t understand. When presented with something new—truly new—it triggers uncertainty. Not excitement.

We’ve experienced this firsthand. At RadHash, we’ve introduced a model that reimagines how software is built, owned, and scaled. It’s not another AI wrapper. It’s not a no-code tool. It’s a new category entirely. And because there’s no obvious analog in the market, many investors have passed—not due to lack of traction, but because they couldn’t place it in a box they recognized.

And in venture, pattern recognition rules.

The Irony: “Novel but Proven”

Here’s the paradox: investors want a novel idea—but only if it’s already been validated by someone else. A new wedge, but with a known path to scale. An unproven thesis, but with proven comps.

That’s not risk tolerance. That’s selective bravery.

What They Actually Fund

Most VCs fund the delta, not the disruption. They’ll write a check for the 20% improvement on a SaaS category they’ve already seen exit. They’ll chase the founder solving an old problem with a shinier UI. They’ll back an AI layer glued to an existing workflow, but hesitate at infrastructure that rewrites the stack entirely.

Meanwhile, the founders building the future get asked to come back when there’s traction—after they've somehow done the impossible without the capital required to prove it.

What Founders Should Know

This isn’t about bitterness. It’s about clarity.

If you’re building something truly new, don’t expect VCs to “get it” on the first pass. Most won’t. Design your GTM for the market—not for investors. Your job is to prove the world wants it. The investors who matter will catch up.

Or they’ll miss it completely.

Just ask the ones who passed on Figma, Stripe, or Notion in their early decks.

Because let’s be honest—innovation doesn’t look investible until after it wins.

#StartupLife #FounderStruggles #TechBroEnergy #VentureCapital #InnovationGap #DisruptThePattern #Startupland #InvestorMindset #PitchRealities #BuildDifferent