100%! There are many exceptions, but it is a deep truism that those who can walk away are the only ones guaranteed to get a deal they find satisfactory. It’s a

100%! There are many exceptions, but it is a deep truism that those who can walk away are the only ones guaranteed to get a deal they find satisfactory. It’s almost tautological: If you can walk away, and a deal doesn’t feel good, you just walk away. So what’s left? Deals you like. There are many ways to be able to walk away. Cash flow and profitability are the easiest. Sometimes it’s being able to put a one-person company on hold and go rock climbing while you live out of a “craggin’-shaggin’-wagon.” That being said... Here’s some personal and contrarian advice: Don’t organize yourself around being able to walk away just because you want negotiating leverage. If that’s your only motivation for generating cash flow or profits, emotionally you will always desire a deal, and in a very real sense you will fond it hard to walk away from money. The ideal thing is to generate profit because you are attached to the idea of a functioning business, and not just a startup designed to conduct experimental market- and technological research. The ideal thing is to want to grow from founding to running an operating business over the long haul, so you actually don’t want a deal even if the terms are financially favourable. When you are able to walk away for your own personal and values-based reasons, you ironically will be in the strongest negotiating position. JM2C, YMMV, INAE, &c.