Now, however, more venture rounds aren’t being led by a single investor, and they don’t have an official close date or amount, Graham said. There may be an official lead, but that’s in name only, and they don’t dominate the process like they used to. This benefits the startups because the lead investor has less power to screw them over. Even if the investor is well-intentioned, the startup isn’t held back if the lead isn’t moving fast enough to raise money. And rather than distracting itself with intense fundraising, a startup can keep raising money in the background as needed.
Graham said this is part of a larger trend where founders have more power than investors, a trend that incubator Y Combinator “has been based on since the beginning.” Entrepreneurs who have had difficult dealings with VCs may be skeptical that this power shift is really happening. Even Graham acknowledged that the fundraising model he described isn’t happening for every startup. But that’s how the best ones are raising money.
