Your Startup Doesn’t Need to Be a Unicorn
Importance: 3 | # | startups, growth
What’s rarely talked about is the third path: raise a small amount—say, less than $1M—while keeping 90%+ of your equity, avoiding board seats, and building for profitability and strong asset value. All without draining your personal finances or spending a decade bootstrapping through revenue.
What no VC will tell you is that there’s a window of opportunity — somewhere between Pre-Seed and Series A — where founders can tap into significant upside.
The key is understanding your values, defining what you want from the journey and the outcome, and knowing what you're willing—and, more importantly, unwilling—to sacrifice along the way.