Hi I'm a 25 year old software engineer as a faang+ company in San Francisco.
I have gotten the fastlane bug lately as I want a stable business that provides for the community. Many of my college friends and past coworkers have decided to chase the fastlane through Venture capital funded companies whether it is working for one or selling one. Having been in that sphere of influence a while, I'm undecided on whether its a benefit or not for my development.
Here are some pros and cons I have thought of in my experience.
Pros:
1. Access to the smartest people. People who work in venture capital and venture related startups are the best of the best. They made a bet on themselves and for many of them it paid off. If you want to know what's at the cutting edge of technology, it is there.
2. Scale: Venture capital funded firms have ample cash flow allowing them to quickly scale up and often compete self-bootstraped companies in the same sector.
3. Connections: Venture capital firms often have connections across industry making it easier to setup businesses
Cons:
1. Mixed Incentives: Venture Capital firms aren't necessarily rooting for the startup! Often they have multiple competing firms under their umbrella and will shift resources towards helping one which they think has the most promise.
2. Different Aims: Venture capital is looking for firms that would disrupt the ecosystem, not firms that would put the founder in the fastlane. They want firms with billions of revenue when sometimes a profitable one with millions and low investment on the founder's part is what we need.
3. Final Payout: Venture capital tends to take a large chunk of the company's equity which significantly dilutes the final payout for both the founders and even more so for the employee.
4. Control of the company: With the funding, venture capital firms would want an increased say on the funded company.
5. Competition: Even though venture capital has access to smart people, its easy to be a cog in the machine. There's so many smart people in that field that people are seen more for what they have done recently.
Personally , this might be really vague my goal is not to build the next facebook or google but to build a company that would not only let me live a fast lane lifestyle but also be rooted to a local community the same way the local car dealer or grocery store owner is. I'm not against venture capital per se but I would rather not use it if my goal isn't to build the next disruptive company
I have gotten the fastlane bug lately as I want a stable business that provides for the community. Many of my college friends and past coworkers have decided to chase the fastlane through Venture capital funded companies whether it is working for one or selling one. Having been in that sphere of influence a while, I'm undecided on whether its a benefit or not for my development.
Here are some pros and cons I have thought of in my experience.
Pros:
1. Access to the smartest people. People who work in venture capital and venture related startups are the best of the best. They made a bet on themselves and for many of them it paid off. If you want to know what's at the cutting edge of technology, it is there.
2. Scale: Venture capital funded firms have ample cash flow allowing them to quickly scale up and often compete self-bootstraped companies in the same sector.
3. Connections: Venture capital firms often have connections across industry making it easier to setup businesses
Cons:
1. Mixed Incentives: Venture Capital firms aren't necessarily rooting for the startup! Often they have multiple competing firms under their umbrella and will shift resources towards helping one which they think has the most promise.
2. Different Aims: Venture capital is looking for firms that would disrupt the ecosystem, not firms that would put the founder in the fastlane. They want firms with billions of revenue when sometimes a profitable one with millions and low investment on the founder's part is what we need.
3. Final Payout: Venture capital tends to take a large chunk of the company's equity which significantly dilutes the final payout for both the founders and even more so for the employee.
4. Control of the company: With the funding, venture capital firms would want an increased say on the funded company.
5. Competition: Even though venture capital has access to smart people, its easy to be a cog in the machine. There's so many smart people in that field that people are seen more for what they have done recently.
Personally , this might be really vague my goal is not to build the next facebook or google but to build a company that would not only let me live a fast lane lifestyle but also be rooted to a local community the same way the local car dealer or grocery store owner is. I'm not against venture capital per se but I would rather not use it if my goal isn't to build the next disruptive company
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