If you say so. I'm no authority, but the times I've been out, I was coached by people who were pretty experienced, and the advice we got was uniformly "if you can't get to a partner you're wasting your time". Also: it was never a challenge to get to a partner.
Thomas, I enjoy your HN writings, but I'm afraid you comments here may mislead readers.
Associates play a key role at VCs, sourcing MANY investments, and serving as gatekeepers.
When I was a VC Associate, I sourced 6 investments, totaling over $50M invested. Those entrepreneurs are glad they met with the lowly Associate (I'm now good friends with many of them and have discussed the topic).
This idea of "don't talk to an Associate" is misguided from the real fact: the Partners are the decision-makers at the firm. If you can meet with a Partner instead of only an Associate - do it! At the very least, it decreases your cycle time. Don't have a connection to a Partner? Can't make schedules work? Meet the Associate. Hundreds of entrepreneurs get funded this way, every year.
I believe you. If I ever go talk to VC again, I'll do my best to unlearn the old idea. For what it's worth, nobody ever told us to religiously avoid talking to associates, just that (a) our goal was to convert to partner ASAP, and (b) if you can't do that, move on. I imagine it's (b) that you disagree with.
For whatever it's worth, I'm only commenting because I thought the swipe at 'dmor upthread was unwarranted. Even if the idea of associates as wastes of time is totally unwarranted, it's a very common idea, including among people who have done very well with fundraising.
Btw Thomas, I wouldn't say you're wrong - of course you should talk to a partner if you can (my advice, independent of me). But many times, an associate can help figure out where to direct it, what the interest level is, and can be an advocate for your company (especially at an early stage) internally.
