The author of the text is a co-founder of Encord, a company focused on automating data annotation for computer vision. The company recently closed a $4.5M seed round led by CRV and including other prominent investors. The author reflects on their experience with fundraising during the COVID-19 pandemic, when venture funding was scarce. They had to rethink their approach and focus on building a business instead of crafting elaborate pitch decks. After being accepted into Y Combinator's W21 batch, they received 77 emails from investors in just 5 minutes after pitching, highlighting the competitive nature of fundraising. The author shares insights on how they navigated the process, including the disparity between their success rate with US and European investors, and the importance of understanding the investor's investment thesis and being cautious about "ghosting" or dismissive behavior.