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How We Secretly Lose Control of Our Startups
Should Kids Follow in Our Founder Footsteps?
The Evolution of Entry Level Workers
Assume Everyone Will Leave in Year One
Stop Listening to Investors
Was Mortgaging My Life Worth it?
What's My Startup Worth in an Acquisition?
When Our Ambition is Our Enemy
Are Startups in a "Silent Recession"?
The 5 Types of Startup Funding
What Is Startup Funding?
Do Founders Deserve Their Profit?
Michelle Glauser on Diversity and Inclusion
The Utter STUPIDITY of "Risking it All"
Committees Are Where Progress Goes to Die
More Money (Really Means) More Problems
Why Most Founders Don't Get Rich
Investors will be Obsolete
Why is a Founder so Hard to Replace?
We Can't Grow by Saying "No"
Do People Really Want Me to Succeed?
Is the Problem the Player or the Coach?
Will Investors Bail Me Out?
The Value of Actually Getting Paid
Why do Founders Suck at Asking for Help?
Wait a Minute before Giving Away Equity
You Only Think You Work Hard
SMALL is the New Big — Embracing Efficiency in the Age of AI
The 9 Best Growth Agencies for Startups
This is BOOTSTRAPPED — 3 Strategies to Build Your Startup Without Funding
Never Share Your Net Worth
A Steady Hand in the Middle of the Storm
Risk it All vs Steady Paycheck
How About a Startup that Just Makes Money?
How to Recruit a Rockstar Advisor
Why Having Zero Experience is a Huge Asset
My Competitor Got Funded — Am I Screwed?
The Hidden Treasure of Failed Startups
If It Makes Money, It Makes Sense
Why do VCs Keep Giving Failed Founders Money?
$10K Per Month isn't Just Revenue — It's Life Support
The Ridiculous Spectrum of Investor Feedback
Startup CEOs Aren't Really CEOs
Series A, B, C, D, and E Funding: How It Works
Best Pitch Decks Ever: The Most Successful Fundraising Pitches You Need to Know
When to Raise Funds
Why Aren't Investors Responding to Me?
Should I Regret Not Raising Capital?
Unemployment Cases — Why I LOOOOOVE To Win Them So Much.
How Much to Pay Yourself
Heat-Seeking Missile: WePay’s Journey to Product-Market Fit — Interview with Rich Aberman, Co-Founder of Wepay
The R&D technique for startups: Rip off & Duplicate
Why Some Startups Win.
Chapter #1: First Steps To Validate Your Business Idea
Product Users, Not Ideas, Will Determine Your Startup’s Fate
Drop Your Free Tier
Your Advisors Are Probably Wrong
Growth Isn't Always Good
How to Shut Down Gracefully
How Does My Startup Get Acquired?
Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught?
How to Pick the Wrong Co-Founder
Staying Small While Going Big
Investors are NOT on Our Side of the Table
Who am I Really Competing Against?
Why Can't Founders Replace Themselves?
Actually, We Have Plenty of Time
Quitting vs Letting Go
How Startups Actually Get Bought
What if I'm Building the Wrong Product?
Are Founders Driven by Fear or Greed?
Why I'm Either Working or Feeling Guilty
Startup Financial Assumptions
Why Every Kid Should be a Startup Founder
We Only Have to be Right Once
If a Startup Sinks, Founders Go Down With it
Founder Success: We Need a Strict Definition of Personal Success
Is Quiet Quitting a Problem at Startup Companies?
Founder Exits are Hard Work and Good Fortune, Not "Good Luck"
Finalizing Startup Projections
All Founders are Beloved In Good Times
Our Startup Culture of Entitlement
The Bullshit Case for Raising Capital
How do We Manage Our Founder Flaws?
What If my plan for retirement is "never retire"?
Startup Failure is just One Chapter in Founder Life
6 Similarities between Startup Founders and Pro Athletes
All Founders Make Bad Decisions — and That's OK
Startup Board Negotiations: How do I tell the board I need a new deal?
Founder Sacrifice — At What Point Have I Gone Too Far?
Youth Entrepreneurship: Can Middle Schoolers be Founders?
Living the Founder Legend Isn't so Fun
Why Do VC Funded Startups Love "Fake Growth?"
How Should I Share My Wealth with Family?
How Many Deaths Can a Startup Survive?
This is Probably Your Last Success
Why Do We Still Have Full-Time Employees?
The Case Against Full Transparency
Should I Feel Guilty for Failing?
Always Take Money off the Table

Will Investors Want to Run My Company?

Wil Schroter

Will Investors Want to Run My Company?

Most Founders taking investor money have never had an investor before – so we don't really know what to expect once we've been handed that big fat check.

There's a notion that once investors are involved, we'll get bullied around at Board meetings or pushed out like so many Founder horror stories we've heard. (Yes, Steve Jobs got fired at Apple).

Why do investors want to run my company

To be clear — they don't. At all.

The worst possible outcome for most investors is that they have to stop doing their job (investing) and instead do our jobs (running a company).

There are edge cases where individual angel investors (often with too much time on their hands) may want to meddle with the business, but most professional investors consider having to "get involved" as a bad sign.

The ideal situation amongst investors is that their money is being well taken care of by competent Founders so they can focus on making more investments.

Or playing golf. Or vacationing. Or any of the other things people with money get to do, unlike people who don't have any.

So when DO investors get involved in running the company?

When things start to go sideways.

If the company is hitting a rough patch, the investors step in to protect their money. At that point, they have to. Once we reach that step, we're going to be looking at provisions in our Operating Agreement or similar documents that state what rights investors have to make key decisions in the company.

If we're at that point, yes, we're about to see a lot more of our investors.

What can I do to prevent investors from having a say?

Well, that's a whole other topic, but the short version is we can set provisions and voting rights that will prevent investors from making key decisions, however, there are only so many "protections" we can make.

At the end of the day, it's our job as Founders to provide a return to our investors, and if we aren't on a path toward that goal, we're going to be tussling in the ring whether we like it or not!

In Case You Missed It

10 Things Every Entrepreneur Should Know About Investors. There are many things most entrepreneurs don’t know about investors, but should. We’ve compiled a list of the 10 things every entrepreneur should know to help prepare you for the process.

Everything You Need to Know About Drafting an Operating Agreement. Operating agreements are important because they protect you and your Co-Founders from disputes down the line. And being thorough is what protects you, your Co-Founders, and ultimately your startup.

When Should Someone Else Run My Company? It's not hard to imagine many startup Founders sitting around wondering, "Shouldn't someone else more qualified be better at this job?" The answer is "Yes" — and yet, you should probably be the one doing it anyway.

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