Some good advice, Dovydas. As a co-founder of five startups I can also say that even people who ought to know better rarely do. I’ve seen plenty of self-defeating panic and bad behavior from professional VCs in well-known funds, as well as ridiculous behavior from private (“angel”) individuals. When it comes to crunch time, most people panic and flab about rather than rationally assess options and proceed methodically. Sequoia Capital, for example, panicked famously in 2008 and has done so again thanks to the very minor issue of COVID-19. And they are supposed to be adults!

The fact is, the very best startup ideas are those that don’t need much (or any) capital. Sadly such opportunities are few and far between and my curse has always to have ideas that require more money than I have to get off the ground. Hence the compromise: take money from investors knowing that those very investors may turn out to be the major problem the company will face down the road.