Post by True Ventures

The seed market is moving faster, categories are forming earlier, and founder conviction is often showing up before traditional proof points. That was the backdrop for “How VCs Actually Decide at Seed in 2026,” where Puneet Agarwal joined Anish Acharya, Frederique Dame, and Marina Temkin, CFA on stage at Startup Grind Conference in Redwood City. Across firms, one thing came through clearly: In early stage, the hardest decisions rarely come down to spreadsheets. They come down to focusing on outliers, technical fluency, and the willingness to back founders before the path is obvious. Good to be in the room with some of the sharpest investors and operators in the ecosystem, and even better to spend time in spaces where founders can hear how conviction actually gets built. A special thanks to Marina at TechCrunch for leading the conversation.