A worker painting the Golden Gate Bridge with San Francisco in the background.

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The sidewalks along University Avenue in Palo Alto used to be a great place to do business.

For decades, there were several blocks where angels and VC partners camped out at café tables, taking pitches between lattes. The pandemic put a stop to that, however.

These days, when you have an opportunity to sell an investor on your idea, it will likely be via a video call, not over a croissant or a shawarma.

Considering how many calls investors take on a daily basis, “this new pitching model presents a new problem for founders,” says Flint Capital partner Andrew Gershfeld, whose firm reviews approximately “1,500 online pitches per year.”