Sampo Accelerator’s Post

Everyone warns about VC dilution, but as the saying goes, 11.4% of something is better than 100% of nothing. A friend of mine sold his fintech company for $850M. By that point, he “only” had a 12% stake.

This is one of many reasons why the frequent advice (and YC requirement!) of having co-founders in your startup is best ignored if you can. Sometimes you can't do it without co-founders, but it's best to be a sole founder. Notably most of the best and largest companies asymptotically approach "sole founder" even if they have co-founders at the start.

This report is insightful and food for thought for founders as they begin their funding journey especially potentially from international vcs. In the local Malaysian context, there is often the expectation from founders to retain majority stake. Even up to listing and beyond. It may not be surprising to note that software and SAAS businesses leave the founders with higher than average stakes after each funding round, as they are less capital intensive.

New data for founders: how much of your company will you own after each round of venture fundraising? Also known as the single most frequent question I get asked 😁 This is a question worthy of a deep dive - so we built a 20 chart report with answers like: 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 • Number of founders per founding team • How VCs prefer teams with cofounders • How likely your cofounder is to leave 𝗜𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗦𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘀 • Do founders split 50/50? • Ownership at the start for the non-CEO founders • Splits by industry and incorporation year 𝗢𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 • How much equity does the founding team hold after each round? • How has that percentage shifted in recent years? • Splits by physical vs digital startups • Ownership by valuation or by cash raised • Ownership for the CEO (!) specifically And a new interactive graphic that allows the reader to see founding team ownership by stage for their specific sector. One key finding (but you need to read the full report, worth it I promise): The moment the founding team falls under 50% ownership 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 the same moment when VCs own the majority of shares thanks to the expanding employee option pool. Interesting to watch these percentages shift as questions about control are always top of mind! Read the full report for free here: https://lnkd.in/gC2Y-xfR #startups #founders #equity #ownership

I was always 51/49 in my favour. (control issues). I am very much 50/50 today (with way less control issues). With hindsight, that 1% matters a whole lot when you're making decisions, and scaling a business with a nervous system locked in survival mode. A restored nervous system? 50/50 is easy and desirable. You have an abundance of clear vision, consistent follow through, you can bend and flex as needed, with endless foresight and clarity to keep the crisis and chaos at bay! this is realy smart 👇 #NervousSystemEconomy #WhoTurnedTheLightsOn #Wellbeing #MentalHealth #RegulateThyself

The beginning of the New Year has always been an interesting time for me. It’s a moment to pause, reflect, and reconnect spending much needed time with family and friends during the holidays. With New Year’s Day and my birthday both in January, it’s also a time to take stock of the ups and downs of the previous year and set meaningful goals for the year ahead. That’s when it hit me…...... I’ve been actively investing in startups for almost 4 years now! My journey in this industry began as a founder. Back then, I was building software to help hospitals operate more efficiently. That experience gave me an intimate understanding of the challenges founders face. When I made the decision to become a venture capitalist, I set a few clear goals for myself: - Become the best VC I can in the shortest amount of time. - Invest in the best people. - Give back to the ecosystem. Since then: - VIPC | Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation Invested in 20+ companies across various industries building amazing solutions. - Helped launch a new initiative to back Venture Capital Fund Managers. - Engaged deeply within the ecosystem through partnerships with incredible organizations. But here’s the thing, nothing could’ve prepared me for the range of responsibilities, opportunities, and challenges that come with being a VC. It’s not just about deploying capital. It’s about listening, learning, and helping founders navigate their toughest moments. It’s about asking tough questions while still being their biggest cheerleader. As VCs, we have the privilege of shaping industries, nurturing innovation, and empowering the next wave of changemakers. That’s a responsibility I don’t take lightly. Every founder’s journey is different, and each investment we make is a vote of confidence in someone’s vision for the future. Looking ahead, I’m excited to continue learning, growing, and making an impact. There’s always more to do, more founders to support, more partnerships to build, and more ways to give back. To my fellow investors, founders, and ecosystem builders: here’s to another year of building together. The work we do is hard, but it’s worth it. Let’s make 2025 a year to remember! #venturecapital #startups #entrepreneurship #innovation

enabling ideas® is all about accelerating your journey from strategy to execution. What sets us apart isn’t just the breadth of knowledge—we bring collaborations to the heart of problem-solving and in-market execution. While other consultancies may offer guidance, we deliver results by uniting a handpicked team of world-class experts to work alongside you every step of the way. With The Startup Station joining our expert partner network, enabling ideas® has leveled up once again. Their unparalleled expertise in financial modeling and strategic CFO advisory enhances the power of our solutions, ensuring that our clients don’t just plan for success—they achieve it. At enabling ideas®, it’s not about telling you what to do—it’s about doing it with you. Our expert partners like The Startup Station help us turn #challenges into #opportunities, bringing #execution-ready solutions to every venture we support.

🎉 Congratulations to The Startup Station for being accepted into the enabling ideas® roster of ultra-talented partnering providers! 🌍 The Startup Station is a strategic CFO advisory firm and financial education platform that empowers early-stage ventures with robust financial modeling and valuation services, especially for pre-revenue startups. With expertise across 15 industries, The Startup Station has supported over 150 founders, helping them raise more than $50M in venture capital. 💡 Their #fractional #CFO services offer startups customized financial plans, aligning their strategy with long-term goals. Going beyond typical CFO roles, The Startup Station’s team are strategists and problem solvers, adept at tackling growth management, cash flow challenges, and navigating pivots or turnarounds. Whether you're crafting a vision for investors or tackling profitability, their industry-agnostic approach helps startups with no financial history demonstrate success effectively. 🚀 🔗 Learn more and see how The Startup Station can help your venture #scale: https://lnkd.in/ewcyvwaR Fast-tracking your success with enabling ideas® – a Venture Acceleration Studio with a community of the world’s best-in-class firms powering #venture #acceleration and #enterprise #innovation.

When I started Raiz Capital, I chose the name because I appreciate a good pun. But over the last six months, it became clear that a better name was waiting in the wings. "Raising Capital" was never the main point. After all, I built a successful business as a bootstrapped founder. When I invest in startups, I often say that money is the least valuable thing I offer. What holds true, long-term value, are the insights, skills, and hard-earned lessons from my experience building and working on hundreds of products and companies. For those who don’t know, I’ve partnered with Jessica Lynch to build a world-class venture firm and we wanted the name of the firm to be an inclusive brand, not a personal brand. It was important that we were creating something that was much bigger than any one of us. As we brainstormed a new name, we had a few key requirements: - It needed to be founder-centric. - It had to represent more than just money. - We wanted a name with an edge, something that stood out. - And, we wanted a brand that could grow, one that would welcome future investors and founders alike. I'm excited to announce our rebranding to FoundersEdge. Jess and I believe the world needs change, and founders are the ones to create it. Our goal is to give those founders an edge—an unfair advantage—to build exceptional companies. We do this by using data & research to inform our advice and by connecting them with customers, mentors, and investors, so they can, in turn, become the edge for future founders. Being a founder is tough. Raising capital is tough. But founders don't have to do it alone. We're here to give you the edge.  If you're building something world changing and need an edge, we would love to help.

Interesting research on start-up success from Columbia Business school. Among other things, it found that “founders who score high on openness and agreeableness are more likely to raise funding, emotionally resilient founders fare better across all venture stages, and highly conscientious founders fare better in the earliest stages such as amount raised during initial fundraising, but are less likely to achieve high-growth exits such as acquisition or IPO.” 404Harmony works with founders to prepare them for success in multiple ways, including executive coaching that can enhance a founder’s prospects for raising capital and driving growth. #founder #startup