Syed Hamid volleyed back and forth with a group of about a dozen investors for two hours before noticing something strange in his meeting.
Hamid, CEO and founder of the Bellevue, Washington-based software testing company Sofy, was trying to raise money to keep his startup growing. He had talked to dozens of firms, tweaked his pitch deck about 15 times, and dealt with the stress of trying to keep his business capitalized and his employees employed.
The meeting with this venture capital firm was…