just had lunch with one of the smartest guys i know

just had lunch with one of the smartest guys i know. he's 25, has a PhD in biomedical engineering with minors in CS, applied mathematics, and business admin from an Ivy League school. he's working on 3D printing organs and honestly the results they've gotten are insane - all on purely non-dilutive grant money. no VCs, no bullshit. just grants.

so he starts asking me for advice on his startup's company structure. i've founded a few things myself, raised money, and failed - so i've been through the gauntlet. i hit him with the basics first.

“you incorporated a Delaware C-Corp right?”

“no i made a California LLC.”

WHAT THE FUCK IS COLLEGE TEACHING YOU GUYS DANIEL.

his response was honestly comical - “not much man. most of our breakthroughs have come from outside the classroom because we're able to move fast and break things when our professor isn't up our ass.”

fair enough. but still. a California LLC. come on bro.

so i gave him the 3 pieces of advice i wish someone gave me before i learned them the hard way:

1. never take VC money from someone who hasn't tried to build and raise money themselves. take money from people who have been in your shoes before. otherwise you will permanently have a 2x4 up your ass attached to someone who has no idea what the fuck they're talking about. best case scenario - they succeeded from 0 to 1 and sold the thing. those are the ones you want in your corner.

2. never give up a board seat for a check size less than $2M. that's it. non-negotiable. your board seat is one of the most valuable things you have. don't sell it cheap.

3. generate as much enterprise interest as possible before you even think about approaching VCs. LOIs, pilot agreements, whatever you can get. stack them up. once you have that, you hold one of the rings of power - leverage. VCs will look at you like the smoking hot BD girl at a crypto conference. they will approach you at that point. not the other way around.

daniel if you're reading this, do wtf i said please - go incorporate a Delaware C-Corp immediately. and you're welcome for lunch.