Yes, it's unrealistic. Here are things that founders could do that might upset an investor: 1. Selling your company to someone else for a tiny sum. 2. Issuing

Yes, it's unrealistic. Here are things that founders could do that might upset an investor: 1. Selling your company to someone else for a tiny sum. 2. Issuing stock in peculiar ways. 3. Issuing stock to yourselves without any vesting plan. 4. Jacking up your own compensation at the expense of runway. Much of the "control" they want is to keep you from doing something unethical. Some of the control they want is to keep you from compromising their investment. There are plenty of great stories where entrepreneurs had such a great idea/startup that they were able to push for pretty great terms (Google). The best way to insure control is to insure that you don't NEED the investment.