People often advise raising more than you think you need. Years ago, we raised double what we intended and it had a hugely positive impact on the company. (Investors and advisors: the crowd, the ringside, and your corner)
Yet, I’m starting to see a downside of too much capital: new founders with years of runway and no external pressure to perform. Imagine a team that:- Raises a lot of money (3+ years of runway)
- Doesn’t focus on revenue and / or engagement
- Hires haphazardly
- Doesn’t have a board or external pressure [1]
- Doesn’t run projections (Don’t be the startup that accidentally runs out of money)
- Doesn’t execute on a plan or build deliberately
This is startup purgatory, which is working forever, building for users that might not exist. Then, if they do exist, they may represent a vertical too small to support your company. (Don't build a Galapagos product)
It’s only when the founders discover that their runway is finite that there's a race to the fundamentals, like active users or revenue. They plan better and iterate like crazy. There's nothing like finite runway, diminishing cash and uninterested investors to focus on core business fundamentals.
Extra capital can significantly de-risk a company. It helps to take it. But, it can also lull you into a sense of complacency. If you have the capital, think hard about how you can put it to work.
-
[1] There’s a lot of aversion to having a board because there are a lot of stories of bad boards. I found it really helpful. We have a meeting every 2 months and discuss company goals, objectives and accomplishments. There’s nothing like announcing commitments to make sure you keep them.