And then we ask how to get 10x more (aka "return") before we even think about what it is we are providing. What the investor is providing is their money, with

And then we ask how to get 10x more (aka "return") before we even think about what it is we are providing. What the investor is providing is their money, with the understanding that they most likely will never see any of it again. In the event that the person they gave it to is successful, though, the bargain is that they get to share in the success. Without the potential for the 10x to pay for the vast number of failures the math just doesn't work, and the investors are better off keeping their money for themselves. And then entrepreneurs have to save up their own funding before starting anything.