Turn on the TV these days and you are often inundated with America’s obsession over the big payday and getting rich quick. Whatever happened to the American dream? Let’s look at the data. Over half a million startups get going in the U.S. each month. That’s a lot of competition. Many of them are chasing the big venture capital firm and angel investor dollar.
If you are in the small percentage of companies that actually get VC funded, you are in the minority. Most of the funding for startups comes from personal loans, credit cards and friends and family. Of those that do get funded, only a few of them succeed. So based on the statistics, most likely you’re business will fail. You will be in debt or owe your parents so much money you will be mowing their lawn until you get those AARP mailers.
You might be asking yourself, “Why do I keep hearing about VC firms and how they change the world?” The answer there is that you bought into the hype. VC firms make their money on hype. This is why you should think twice before giving up partial ownership of your business to venture capitalists.
From your idea to your team to…