(This
article is meant to be a complete summary of funding options
for startup founders. In effect we're open-sourcing the kernel of
what we tell founders about funding at Y
Combinator.)Venture funding works like gears. A typical startup goes through
several rounds of funding, and at each round you want to take just
enough money to reach the speed where you can shift into the next
gear.Few startups get it quite right. Many are underfunded. A few are
overfunded, which is like trying to start driving in third gear.