The Downside of Greed: 90 Percent of Nothing Is Nothing
Over the course of my career, I’ve had the privilege of watching the ups and downs of quite a few companies born in Silicon Valley. We are in an era where founders have a unique opportunity for tremendous wealth creation. With such an opportunity comes significant responsibility; a duty to be selfless and shy away from instinctual greed.
It seems like every day we can open our devices and read news about another nine-figure valuation and the minting of another billionaire.
I also hear stories about entrepreneurs who I believe have taken their eye off the big prize by thinking small. The stories have a familiar ring to them in that they involve a founder or founders who keep most of the equity in the firm to themselves with the hopes of both becoming rich and maintaining control of their company. Even when they bring on investors, their focus immediately becomes about “diluting” their equity position.
