Today, we’re talking about founder tactics that may work but your advisors have to push back on them.
Fundraising for a large check with minimal traction. Most founders will not be able to pull this off, and will waste a lot of time. You might be the 1 in 1000 but nobody should really recommend that path for you.
Same with pursuing partnerships for distribution. They rarely work out but I have a number of portfolios who grow using this tactic.
One of the hardest is the high salary employee dilemma — you probably shouldn’t pay someone $200k/year if you’re a small startup but I have seen a few companies make it work.
Your advisors aren’t living it and their advice, including mine, isn’t worth more than your instinct.