We often fund startups that couldn't succeed without a much bigger investment than we make. More often than not, in fact.
The only case where having the first 150k guaranteed would make a difference would be if we were considering a group that we liked, but we thought other investors would be too timid to fund. E.g. a group doing something insanely risky. But in those cases we always fund them anyway, and count on our own ability to talk the later stage investors around.
The only case where having the first 150k guaranteed would make a difference would be if we were considering a group that we liked, but we thought other investors would be too timid to fund. E.g. a group doing something insanely risky. But in those cases we always fund them anyway, and count on our own ability to talk the later stage investors around.