Why a16z pitched Deel to lead its Series A

It’s typical on TechCrunch Live for founders to talk about fundraising while flipping through their last pitch deck. But Deel CEO Alex Bouaziz didn’t have a pitch deck to share. That’s because Deel raised a total of $629 million without one.

Rather, Andreessen Horowitz partner Anish Acharya pitched Deel to let a16z lead the company’s Series A, Acharya explained alongside Bouaziz on TechCrunch Live on Wednesday.

Throughout the chat, we touched on a few key takeaways, including how to raise without a pitch deck. For Acharya, a serial founder with extensive fundraising and investing experience, Deel’s momentum comes from Bouaziz.

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“I think it’s hard to meet Alex and not get the feeling of inevitability,” Acharya said. “And that’s how a lot of the best founders are. There’s just this feeling of momentum, and they’re in a hurry — Alex is always in a hurry.’”

Acharya came back to this point several times throughout the discussion.

“There’s a feeling as if it’s going to happen, whether I’m a part of it or not.” This FOMO led Acharya to pitch a16z so that Deel’s founding team understood the investment firm knew how to leverage the market.

When asked what a16z’s pitch deck looks like, Acharya smiled and said he couldn’t reveal all his secrets.