>> The other investors have a fiduciary duty to their own stakeholders (themselves) that generally comes before the founder’s desire for special treatment. Tha

>> The other investors have a fiduciary duty to their own stakeholders (themselves) that generally comes before the founder’s desire for special treatment. That is not a criticism. It should be obvious why outsiders invest in something, and it sounds like some founders forget this because they are so focused on the thing they spent a lot of time on. >> Good founders that know they’re not the right ones to lead the next phase of the business know when to step aside. But it's debatable when that is. It also depends what the goals are. There is absolutely NO legal requirement that a company has to have profit as it's main objective. If the goal is to make the best widget possible, one can go from MVP and ramen profitability to a lifelong business without taking investment. Hah, so that's "when" you step aside - when you decide to shift from product-focused to money focused! Those are definitely two different skills. You are effectively cashing out, but investors aren't just going to buy the business and hand you a check. They need to keep you around because you're the expert in whatever you've built so far, hence letting you stay as a minority shareholder (handcuffs).