Ten-Year Treasury Yield vs. Private Capital

Founders often hear about interest rates only when deals get harder, terms tighten, valuations compress, conversations slow and it can feel sudden and personal. The 10 year treasury yield explains why it represents the market's baseline return. Private capital does not compete with founders it competes with that baseline. When yields rise, private capital needs more return to justify the risk, illiquidity and and complexity that shows up as a tighter terms, more control, slower processes. And when yields fall, capital can afford patience and flexibility. Founders feel this as resistance. In reality, it's simply repricing. The business did not change, the alternative returns did. Understanding this matters because it changes how founders interpret capital behavior. I'm Tom Powell and at the Founder's Office I work with founders when momentum feels real but capital suddenly feels cautious. Reading the baseline correctly often turns confusion into strategy and timing into leverage. Check us out at the founder's office foundersoffice.com and we also have a lunch and learn on Wednesdays if you care to join us, have a great day.