Raising money is incredibly distracting. Seeking funding is difficult and draining. It takes months of pitch meetings, legal maneuvering, contracts, etc. That’s an enormous distraction when you should really be focused on building something great.

When I get an email, I never go straight to the meeting. I ask how many full-time employees they have, how much money they’ve made, their funding history, how they acquire customers, and why they are building this business. The FTE and money-raised answers tell me what their burn rate is and how much they have left in the bank. Most founders think