Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California is a famous street for entrepreneurs. Lining this stretch are elite venture capital firms, and nearly every top Silicon Valley company has started here.
So, I was understandably a little intimidated back in 2009 on one of my first fundraising trips to the Valley for Hootsuite. Would investors give me the time of day? Would they share my enthusiasm for building a social media management platform? Would I even be able to get in the door?
But something unexpected happened—almost eerie. Time and time again, inside conference rooms, at coffee shops, or when huddling in

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