The Changing Playbook: Building Without Burning Out on Fundraising
I am a tech startup founder….and not your typical one….
The Silicon Valley world is new to me-and I’m gonna be honest-it’s a trip, I absolutely love startup life!(yes, the good, the bad and the really, really tough parts), and I’m good at it, honestly-I was born for this. I have been fortunate enough to find an amazing community here.
Lately, I’ve been buried in my pitch deck and financial projections, trying to map out what growth could look like. But the more I dig in, the more I realize just how different the landscape is now.
Sharon Gillenwater shared an article recently from The New York Times about how founders might not need VC funding anymore—how bootstrapping and angel investment aren’t just backup plans but viable ways to build massive companies.
That sounds a hell of a lot better than the endless cycle of raising round after round just to chase traditional venture-scale growth!
The old playbook—raise as much as possible, as fast as possible, at the highest valuation possible—feels out of touch with where we are at this moment.
I know building something real takes money, hence why I’ve been buried-(sure, I probably didn’t need to get as in-depth seeking an Angel Investment-but why shouldn’t Angels have as detailed an insight into a prospective investment as V.C.?-besides, it was an excellent exercise)
I also know that every dollar raised comes with a trade-off-and I’m not just speaking to dilution-the time, energy and effort a founder could put into building their company if they don’t have to constantly raise will be a major game-changer-If I can get BeautyDeskAI where it needs to be while taking as little outside funding as possible, that’s what I’m going to do.
My bet is that the NYT’s article is right on the nose with what's coming in the future-and I’m personally hedging my bet that it is.