The Startup Funding Hoax

Venture Capital trap

I don’t enjoy working in a constricted corporate environment. I care not for politics and I much prefer to keep real customers happy than internal ones. It’s super hard to do that working for a company.  The core customer usually becomes the people we work for.

A big reason to go down the entrepreneurial track isn’t about finance but freedom. So I’m wondering why so many aspiring entrepreneurs believe this is the modern day formula for entrepreneurship:

  1. Have an idea.
  2. Build an MVP.
  3. Get traction and attention.
  4. Get funded.

If we take step 4 then we might as well be back at work again. All of a sudden we have a boss. We lose the freedom that goes with the risk we’ve taken. We outsource our financial risk to others, and in turn we lose control. It feels a bit like a core reason for going out on our own is lost. It’s one lesson from Silicon Valley we could do without.

Here’s a better model.

  1. Have an idea.
  2. Build an MVP.
  3. Get traction and attention.
  4. Make profit.

Sure, external funding is sometimes a requirement for long lead opportunities, but profit is always a requirement for long term freedom.

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