What Are Founders Buying Besides a Venture Capital Check?

Bilal Zuberi stays on many Lux boards with no compensation, no equity vesting, and no salary because his reputation matters and because the pledge he made when he won the investments was that the founders were buying a partner. Skipping the hard moments, or handing the seat to a young associate, would be unfair and would be lying.

A founder who only wants capital can get it from many places. People assume the big fund is the cheap source, but every large firm has a bigger backer, and someone else will often write the check, maybe even at a lower price. At the smaller end he offers 3 million or 5 million, money a founder could also raise from 1800 other places. The reason to take his money is help building the business and a partner who stays through thick and thin.

He has been out of Lux for almost two years. The departure was announced in December, and he left formally in the middle of last year. He still sits on many boards for the firm, including the Applied Intuition board and companies that are struggling and take a lot of his time. He wants stronger ethics in VC and incentives lined up for founders, VCs, and LPs.