Jason M. Lemkin argues most founders shouldn't raise VC, which now chases only AI-driven, high-growth deals. He recommends a modest seed round instead, then operating independently. B2B founders admire fast-growing AI companies like Cursor and Harvey but worry about hallucinations, yet Lemkin says they should accelerate development anyway because the industry moves fast.
Chapters
Listen, I don't think most people should fundraise. This is not all about VC. VC is not the right choice for most people. I firmly believe that even if you do raise VC, for most folks, a one and done is the best approach. Raise a little bit of seed money and then call it a day. Don't take the stress and pressure. But if you are thinking about fundraising or want to learn, realize in the 2x2, people want AI and growth and everything else is hard. It's harder. It's harder. So it's a weird world, but it means overall VCs are working super hard. Tons of deals are being happening, term sheets, meetings, but it's just for that one little part of the 2x2. Okay. And the other thing I wanted to highlight is just, you know, I think a lot of B2B founders are of three minds on AI, right? One, they wish they were growing as fast as Cursor or Harvey or others. They wish they were getting to $100 million in two years or one year or less. But on the other hand, they're a little skeptical. They're like, you know what, I've tried this stuff. It even as great as the new models are, they're still hallucinating. I can't get— it's not enough for my customers. It doesn't work. I want to wait and see in my category, especially I hear this a lot in vertical SaaS where it's very specific. Specific. In my category, I'm waiting to see what's going to happen. Maybe that's okay, but if nothing else, change is everywhere. And my biggest worry, my biggest vibe check is move faster because everyone is excited, everyone is building more software, everyone is shipping more software, and you got to move faster.
