🎪 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚, 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐲 & 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐬 - 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐂 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐬

Thomas Dobmeyer joined the panel 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚, 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐂 𝐂𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐬 (hosted by Frank Beckmann at the Max Pog VC event, March 31 VC Conf – Mar 31, 2026), and one thing became very clear:

Behind every polished pitch deck, there’s usually a skeleton in the closet 🩻 

❗Of course, this is just one side of the coin - we’re sure founders have plenty of their own stories about investors.

The discussion quickly moved past theory into reality. Even the strongest-looking deals can fall apart for a million reasons - right up until the final signature. Most of the real “drama” doesn’t sit in the numbers, but in people: misaligned expectations, shifting incentives, and founders who suddenly change once the money hits the account.

Spreadsheets can be optimized. A mindset can’t.

And then there’s the other side of the circus. “Next-gen” ambitions paired with surprisingly outdated habits. And a level of certainty where learning simply stops. Not always dramatic - but often just as revealing.

When the conversation shifted to the future, a few well-known themes came up. The most interesting opportunities may not be in the obvious sectors, but in the ones nobody is paying attention to. Capital will become more selective, mediocrity will struggle, and while AI will take over many tasks, it won’t replace instinct, judgment, or trust.

In the end, it still comes down to something simple:

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲.

With network and access becoming just as critical as expertise.

At ekwithree, we know the circus might be part of the game - what matters is knowing who’s performing, and who’s actually building.

(𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 - 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑑𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑛𝑎𝑝𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑑𝑎𝑦.)