Confidence is a funny thing: you can't succeed if you don't have it, and you can't have it if you don't succeed. In poker, a game which I am not unfamiliar wit

Confidence is a funny thing: you can't succeed if you don't have it, and you can't have it if you don't succeed. In poker, a game which I am not unfamiliar with, it's well understood that having confidence, even apparent arrogance, is a significant strategic factor which can dramatically improve a players results. The example of poker is relevant as an analogy both for getting through an interview, and getting money from an investor; both activities involve a similar degree of imperfect information. Having confidence helps prevent you from making bad decisions or constantly second guessing yourself when you experience significant variance, it intimidates your opponents and causes them to make mistakes which work to your advantage, and it can drive you to push yourself harder to learn and improve than you would if you didn't think it was possible to succeed.