I tried Barry's Bootcamp, the intense fitness class that's become a hub of VC networking and tech deals. I walked out with a lot of sweat but no funding.

Unlike most gyms, Barry's does not offer memberships. You can buy a one day pass for $35, or buy a pack of multiple passes.

When I walked in at the ungodly hour of 6 a.m., the front desk attendants were unnaturally peppy and explained how a treadmill worked since I assume I look like I’ve never stepped foot in a gym before today.

You can choose whether you want to start on the treadmill or on the floor with weights. The instructor cues both at the same time and participants switch between sections throughout the class. I started the class on the treadmill because a friend told me it’s better to just get it over with. We are no longer friends.

The front desk offered ear plugs in a tasteful glass jar, which I pass up because the last time I wore ear plugs I was 7 years old at a demolition derby. I wrongly assumed the music for a 6 a.m. workout class would not reach race car-level decibels.

The instructor, who I think might have taken the ‘bootcamp’ label a little too seriously, advised our class to grab medium to heavy dumbbells, which come out to 10-pound to 20-pound weights for women. I went for 12-pounders and was proud of my slight athletic superiority over the minimum requirement.

The Red Room is named such because of the dark red lights that are the only illumination in the sweat room. That is, unless your instructor wants to quickly flash regular white lights to simulate a strobe light while you’re doing bicep curls. Seeing yourself in fluorescent lights mid-workout will easily humble even the buffest investor.

After 60 minutes, I was honestly surprised that I had survived. I wasn’t close to crushing it, as my instructor so kindly put it as he knuckle-bumped me on the way out, but the after-workout glow had me feeling like I could walk into a conference room and pitch even the most stone-faced investors.