Going the VC route is BAD for 99.99975% of founders.
They give up their 3% chance at becoming a millionaire by bootstrapping for a 0.00025% (yes, four zeroes) chance at becoming a billionaire by going VC-backed.
The problem?
VC money is SUPER sexy.
Here’s what founders are thinking:
1. People are impressed at the size of the raise
2. It’s validation that my product has value
3. I feel rich due to an inflated valuation
4. I think I’ll be selling 10% per round for years...
But you’re not thinking about the TRUTH of the situation:
- Most people don’t know you spent 6 months begging
- It’s at X times shrinking revenue, which screams “dead”
- You’ll blow most of the repo $ to grow into your valuation
- You’re just one down round away from 10X the dilution
Read the stats again...
Almost every founder would turn down a bootstrapping biz today, in favor of notional future billions.
All the while, they are unwittingly giving up their autonomy and gambling their equity away.
All for a 0.00025% chance at a billion.
This is the worst trade in business.
Founders, remember...
You have a 400X better chance of becoming a millionaire.
Think carefully before you pick your path.
P.S. How were these numbers calculated?
↳ Millionaire with a bootstrapped business (3-5%) → Around 10% of businesses survive 10+ years, and a subset (~30-50%) generate enough profit to make their founders worth $1M+. That gives ~3-5% probability (1 in 20 to 1 in 30).
↳ Billionaire with a VC-backed startup (0.00025%) → Only 1% of startups get VC funding, and ~1% of those become unicorns. Even among unicorn founders, many get diluted below $1B net worth. This results in ~0.00025% probability (1 in 400,000 overall), or ~0.1% (1 in 1,000) if you're already VC-backed.
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👋 Don't know me? I'm J.Y! I've been building things and making money online since 2017, and I share my entrepreneurial journey here on LinkedIn.