I agree 100%. His response doesn't make sense from the entrepreneur's perspective. Using his strategy, no one would ever make cold calls because they are annoying to the recipient. But the bottom line is they work enough time to make it worth the effort. In this case there is no downside to the asker. I have no idea if asking for such a referral would ever work but it seems to me this is a good example of nothing ventured nothing gained.
Of course there's a downside to the asker - the VC might actually make the referral. "Hi, I passed on this guy but you might want to take a look at him" is not how you want to go into a first meeting with an investor.
