When I write here, it’s usually because I *think* I’ve figured something out worth sharing or community feedback is valuable in helping me examine a new topic. The posts can come suddenly or tumble around in my head for months. Yet there are two that I’ve really struggled to sit down and write (I don’t do drafts or ask people for feedback).

Why has it been so difficult? Because I think while the advice I want to deliver to founders is generally “correct,” it’s not really useful coming from me. Because when these words come from VCs (instead of other founders), they get accused of talking their book or otherwise being self-serving. See the 2016 chatter that VC concerns about funding environment is so we “can get better prices on deals.”

So what are the discussions where Founder to Founder may be more meaningful than another VC blog post? Two are especially top of mind for me:

How too much money, too early, at too high a valuation, can actually be a BAD THING, not a GOOD THING (especially when it’s from the wrong investors for your company or stage).

Why you should be careful about leaning on VC Operations teams for too much support, especially during your formative years.

If folks want to highlight any good founder posts/tweets/podcasts/etc that discuss these two issues, I’d be happy to surface them here.