I think that's fundamental to investing in any company where the goal isn't an IPO. Because if investors have to negotiate their dividends each quarter, and the

I think that's fundamental to investing in any company where the goal isn't an IPO. Because if investors have to negotiate their dividends each quarter, and the CEO has an incentive to make the number lower, it's going to be a painful negotiation every time. The CEO has an infinite variety of ways of routing money to himself / family / friends that don't look like profits on the books. The genius of the VC model is that the investors get paid by the market when the company goes public or is acquired, and during that process the incentives of the founders and investors are aligned (they both want higher numbers.)