This paper offers several novel insights on the Venture Capital (VC) decision making process by investigating the criteria used to reject deals (as opposed to the commonly studied acceptance criteria), and the dynamics of the VC decision-making process over the lifecycle of a fund. The qualitative analysis is based on a comprehensive, longitudinal data set comprising 11 years of archival data from a European-based VC firm. During this time, the VC managed two funds, reviewed a total of 3,631 deals, and made 35 investments. Implications of our results for research and practice are outlined.