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These posts should come with a disclaimer: If you don't have a) significant traction or b) "elite" connections, then it's unreasonable to expect to raise a seed

These posts should come with a disclaimer: If you don't have a) significant traction or b) "elite" connections, then it's unreasonable to expect to raise a seed round in Silicon Valley at all. The author has Yale and YC connections, among the most "elite" there are. It's virtually certain he could not have raised funding without these connections. If you don't have a similar background (i.e. 99.9% of people), then the advice is more harmful than helpful. From the Atrium Scale web site: "The Scale Program is a 1:1 mentorship program that helps founders craft their Series A pitch and get exclusive intros to our network of investors and partners." The business model of organizations like YC and "Atrium Scale" is to sell access to their "elite" networks. They perpetuate Silicon Valley elitism for profit. They help a lucky few chosen founders and damage the entire ecosystem for everyone else. The best advice for anyone that is not a lucky member of these private clubs is to just build a regular business and ignore Silicon Valley entirely. Once you have significant traction, you can raise money with 100% certainty. Greed is the ultimate motivator for most investors.

mrkurt 8y ago
I think there's a lot of truth to what you're saying, and also a fair amount of angst that's pointed the wrong direction. I've never worked with Atrium, but yc was pretty much the ultimate leveling mechanism for founders with no connections. Yes they get you access to elite networks, but they _also_ level the playing field so founders don't get exploited the way they used to. And, they're obviously doing well because of it, but I don't think they're perpetuating the elitism. If anything they've lit a fire under other investors asses to get them to start making more objective decisions about funding. There are a bunch of really good seed funds now that are really easy to get ahold of.
- jkarneges 8y ago
  +1 to joining an accelerator and having them parade you. That's how we were able to raise. Of course, getting into accelerators isn't easy either. As far as I can tell, early stage fundraising for the non-elite is basically random (I consider myself lucky).
- deepnotderp 8y ago
  Second this comment. No reason to direct hate at YC, they're a good way to get injected into the silicon valley ecosystem and connections from outside, and they accept people well outside the ecosystem. "Levels the playing field" is a good descriptor for them

mrkurt 8y ago

I think there's a lot of truth to what you're saying, and also a fair amount of angst that's pointed the wrong direction. I've never worked with Atrium, but yc was pretty much the ultimate leveling mechanism for founders with no connections. Yes they get you access to elite networks, but they _also_ level the playing field so founders don't get exploited the way they used to. And, they're obviously doing well because of it, but I don't think they're perpetuating the elitism. If anything they've lit a fire under other investors asses to get them to start making more objective decisions about funding. There are a bunch of really good seed funds now that are really easy to get ahold of.

jkarneges 8y ago
+1 to joining an accelerator and having them parade you. That's how we were able to raise. Of course, getting into accelerators isn't easy either. As far as I can tell, early stage fundraising for the non-elite is basically random (I consider myself lucky).
deepnotderp 8y ago
Second this comment. No reason to direct hate at YC, they're a good way to get injected into the silicon valley ecosystem and connections from outside, and they accept people well outside the ecosystem. "Levels the playing field" is a good descriptor for them