It's not that cut and dry. - Most professional investors aren't investing their own money and understand a majority of their portfolio will fail. Even if the f

It's not that cut and dry. - Most professional investors aren't investing their own money and understand a majority of their portfolio will fail. Even if the fund performs poorly it will take years to find out and they are paid relatively well during that time. A founder runs a gauntlet of practical risks (career, depression, monetary, reputational). - Most professional investors do not have the experience necessary for running a company. Though obviously they can provide helicopter view support and leverage knowledge from their portfolio. At the end of the day even co-founders diverge in terms of motivations and end-goals. Obviously investors VS founders will too. If you'r taking on investment its obviously critical that you are aligned from the outset. And if its a VC, then you are aware of how the VC business operates, what their goals are and how that will impact your company in different circumstance (liquidation etc) Finally, if you are really aligned, it's likely you will welcome their view on how the business is run and being transparent as to strategy & finances wont be an issue.