most founders know they need to target the right VCs when fundraising but there's something else worth paying attention to: what kind of investor are you actually talking to? besides the obvious differences between private equity, hedge funds, VCs, and other investors, every VC has their own investment thesis, preferred stages, sectors, and geographies but even within venture, investors approach deals very differently I'd break them down into 7 types worth understanding: 1. lead investor. usually writes a larger check, negotiates the terms, and takes a meaningful ownership stake. often does extensive due diligence and may want a board seat or an active role in the company's development 2. follower investor. prefers joining rounds led by someone else. they still do their own evaluation, but often rely on the lead to set the terms and coordinate the round 3. angel investor. invests personal money, often in founders they know or industries they understand well. some are professional angels, while others invest alongside their main job or business 4. institutional VC. invests capital raised from LPs through a professionally managed fund. usually has a more structured investment process, with partner discussions, investment committees, and specific ownership or return targets 5. strategic investor. brings something beyond capital that can directly help your business grow, whether that's distribution, industry expertise, partnerships, or access to customers 6. family office. manages the wealth of one or more wealthy families. some have dedicated venture teams, others invest directly through family members or external advisers. their decision-making processes can vary a lot 7. syndicate. a group of investors pooling money to invest in a deal, usually through an SPV. in my experience, they can be easier to raise from, especially if you're looking for smaller checks and a faster process. but it really depends on who's running the syndicate one important thing: these categories overlap an institutional VC can lead or follow a round. a family office can invest strategically. an angel can organize a syndicate the point is to understand how each investor makes decisions, what they expect from a deal, and what role they can realistically play in your round that can make a huge difference in how you approach them and structure your fundraising

some interesting numbers on what's actually happening with AI adoption in companies > only 37% report any impact on EBIT from AI, unchanged from last year. and just 6% qualify as high performers, attributing at least 5% of EBIT to AI > last year, 32% expected AI to reduce their workforce. this year, only 14% say it actually happened > AI spending has almost doubled in a year, from 1.7% to 3.3% of revenue. over 80% of that spending now happens outside IT budgets > 42% expect to give AI agents actual decision-making authority by 2030. only 5% have the governance in place to do it safely > 32% have already decided against buying at least one software product because they could build it themselves with coding agents > around 20% say AI operating costs, including token usage, are already limiting adoption

one of the most valuable and easiest content formats for VCs to produce: when you're considering investing in a startup, you already spend a ton of time researching the market, talking to industry experts, understanding the competition, and figuring out where the real opportunities are by the end, you have a pretty solid understanding of the space. you know the biggest problems, how people are solving them, what's changing, and where the market might be heading then you make a decision: invest or pass and that's what makes the research especially interesting. you've done enough work to make an actual investment decision, so there's real conviction behind your conclusions so why not turn that research into content? basically, an anonymized investment memo without the numbers, focused on the market and product category rather than a specific startup. if you passed on the deal, you could also share more specific feedback privately with the founders, including the reasons behind your decision it's valuable for everyone: - founders, especially those just entering the space, get a much better understanding of the market - other investors can use it to get up to speed and know what questions to ask when a similar startup approaches them - agencies and service providers can better understand the industry's challenges and tailor their offerings to potential clients you're already doing the hard part. might as well turn it into something useful for others

the best fundraising strategy is to ask investors for advice tell them you've been working on something and have a hypothesis you'd love their thoughts on. they've seen hundreds of startups, so you want to know if you're thinking about the market the right way use the conversation to show how well you understand the problem, the market, and what you're building if you're onto something genuinely interesting, they'll probably ask if you're raising anyway. that's literally their job, finding great companies to invest in and if they're not interested, you still win. you'll hear their concerns, get a chance to address those concerns, and be better prepared when you talk to other VCs

how to hire a good marketer for your startup: 1. find someone who's already grown a company from your current stage to where you want to be. hiring someone from a big corporation usually makes no sense when you're an early-stage startup. it's a completely different game 2. if you're not great at marketing yourself, pay an experienced marketer to join the final interview. they'll quickly figure out if the candidate actually knows their stuff or is just talking bullshit 3. always ask for references from previous companies. it's one of the easiest ways to check if they've actually delivered the results they claim

facts that were true in 2020 > the average founder of a top 0.1% startup was 45 > 50-year-old founders were 2x more likely to succeed than 30-year-olds > founders in their early 20s had the lowest chances of a successful exit > even in tech, the average founder was around 40 > 3+ years of industry experience doubled your odds of building a top startup > founders who successfully exited were 46.7 on average facts that are true in 2026 > average AI unicorn founder age dropped from 40 in 2020 to 29 in 2024 > AI startups reach unicorn status in 4.7 years vs ~7 years historically > outside AI, unicorn founders are still getting older > health and biotech unicorn founders are older than those in other sectors > 40% of unicorn founders are repeat entrepreneurs > 25% of unicorn founders are immigrants

read the summary before bookmarking another article you'll probably never open again learning from other people's experiences in your 20s could save you years of mistakes and wasted time

few things i've experienced by 22: - hit $1.2M ARR - had over $80K stolen from us - somehow kept the company alive 5+ times when our bank account was almost at $0 - came within a day of owing $600K - visited 15 countries and lived in 6 of them - went through 5+ pivots - worked with 7 different cofounders - been in just one romantic relationship - fired 20+ people, including some really tough departures and we're still going