The Realm of Low Expectations
February 20, 2026
As a startup investor, I've seen many careers develop over the last 20 years and one of the worst patterns I see is: low expectations.
A core rule of startup fundraising: the CEO has to lead it. From time to time, I encounter teams where the CEO is not doing the fundraising, and this is a mistake. Here’s why:
Investors want to talk to the person leading the company, the person who governs the vision, and the ultimate decision authority. If you send someone else, most investors will ask to meet with the CEO anyway.
At pre-seed and seed, you can get away with a ‘co-founder’ fundraising but only if nobody else currently holds the CEO title. That will not hold into your Series A.
Having the fundraising co-founder as the CEO does not mean you give up control of the company, there’s lots of ways to avoid that like board structure or even simple resolutions.
Best of luck out there.
