When Investor Meetings Trigger Anxiety: How EMDR Helps Executives

You walk into a funding conversation and feel that body-level tension—tight chest, shaky hands, words stuck in your throat. You know your numbers. You’ve rehearsed your pitch. Yet the moment money and power dynamics enter the room, shame and helplessness take over. That’s what I call investor ick.

This isn’t about being unprepared. You might have the perfect deck, a solid business plan, and trusted advisors telling you you’re ready. But in the room, something shifts. Your body seems to betray you, leaving you shrinking back or apologizing before you even finish your ask.

Investor “ick” shows up most when the stakes feel high: fundraising, negotiating equity, or sitting across from someone with authority. Instead of accessing your strategy, you find yourself bracing for impact—just as you once did in earlier life situations.

Why Certain Investors Trigger Shame/Helplessness

Investor anxiety isn’t about weak strategy—it’s about old experiences being reactivated. A skeptical look from across the table can echo a father’s criticism. A dismissive tone can bring back the feeling of being small and powerless. You’re no longer responding to this room—you’re responding to the past.

Think about it: why does one investor leave you at ease while another makes your stomach churn? It’s rarely about the deal itself. It’s the subtle power dynamic—tone of voice, posture, or facial expression—that mirrors earlier authority figures.

When these old patterns get triggered, the room stops being about business. It becomes a reenactment of earlier survival strategies. Instead of negotiating, you find yourself reverting to appeasing, shrinking, or retreating—because your nervous system thinks the past is happening all over again.

How You Can “Know” But Still Freeze

On paper, you’ve got it. You know what to ask for. You know your value. But the moment your nervous system senses danger, autopilot takes over: apologizing, shrinking, or cutting your ask in half. Strategy collapses under the weight of trauma responses.

This is why so many high-achieving entrepreneurs tell me, “I know what to do, but when I’m actually in the room, I can’t do it.” It’s not about intelligence or preparation—it’s about body memory. The part of your brain that runs survival responses hijacks the part that knows your worth.

This is why mindset coaching alone often falls short. You can practice affirmations and rehearse scripts all day, but once autopilot kicks in, those tools vanish. Your nervous system needs to be updated, not just your conscious thoughts.

How EMDR Clears the dread

EMDR therapy helps entrepreneurs reprocess those old experiences so investor meetings stop feeling like family reenactments. The shame response loses its charge, and you negotiate cleanly, based on facts, not fear.

By targeting specific memories—times when you felt dismissed, shamed, less than, or powerless—EMDR allows your brain to refile them as “over.” Instead of hijacking you, they become neutral. This frees you to respond to investors as they are now, not as echoes of the past.

As these shifts happen, your body feels different too. Your chest opens. Your voice steadies. Investor meetings stop feeling like auditions for approval and start feeling like adult conversations between equals.

Therapy First, Coaching Next

Coaches are excellent for practicing your pitch and refining delivery. They can help you with language, posture, and strategy in the room. But until the unconscious blocks are cleared, strategy won’t stick.

This is why I tell clients: therapy clears the “why you can’t do it,” and coaching strengthens the “how you do it.” Once the trauma-driven freeze is resolved, coaching becomes far more effective. You’ll actually be able to use the tools your coach gives you.

Think of it as sequence. EMDR therapy first helps you reclaim your nervous system so you can show up fully. Coaching then builds on that new foundation, helping you amplify your strategy and execution with confidence.

Ready to negotiate without investor “ick”? Explore Therapy for Entrepreneurs & Executives

Ready to negotiate without investor “ick”? Explore Therapy for Entrepreneurs & Executives