> VC funded startups are not the only way to break free from the dreadful corporate games.
Do people really think this ? VC funded startups are as corporate as it gets, probably worse, just a different kind of corporate.
The second you take funding you have a new boss[1]and have all sorts of constraints which become more and more rigid with more rounds .
There are only few well understood models of scaling and governance that VCs know to work, if you deviate too much they are going to fire and replace you.[2]
It would be rare to have the kind of corporate control Zuckerberg enjoys today for a founder and neither are valuations and preferences terms generous to founders larger you raise .
Whether small business or a giant startup the power dynamics is the same . how much money you need to make payroll(including yours in a solo op) and who is funding it , if you don’t need any money at all then you are the king , if you cannot afford even a small short fall everyone else who can bring that money is your boss
[1] until you raise funding, there are many bosses you cannot afford to piss off : early users/customers , employees, vendors and so on you don’t have the money to attract the talent you desire or runway to say no to capricious user demands
[2] I am not even including the class of funds like a16z who early on will bring in dozens of experts who are on staff and have done scaling many times , imagine part of management, the -1 team reports to your boss also
Do people really think this ? VC funded startups are as corporate as it gets, probably worse, just a different kind of corporate.
The second you take funding you have a new boss[1]and have all sorts of constraints which become more and more rigid with more rounds .
There are only few well understood models of scaling and governance that VCs know to work, if you deviate too much they are going to fire and replace you.[2]
It would be rare to have the kind of corporate control Zuckerberg enjoys today for a founder and neither are valuations and preferences terms generous to founders larger you raise .
Whether small business or a giant startup the power dynamics is the same . how much money you need to make payroll(including yours in a solo op) and who is funding it , if you don’t need any money at all then you are the king , if you cannot afford even a small short fall everyone else who can bring that money is your boss
[1] until you raise funding, there are many bosses you cannot afford to piss off : early users/customers , employees, vendors and so on you don’t have the money to attract the talent you desire or runway to say no to capricious user demands
[2] I am not even including the class of funds like a16z who early on will bring in dozens of experts who are on staff and have done scaling many times , imagine part of management, the -1 team reports to your boss also