This twit appeared on the web as I was giving my closing remarks at TEDxEdges. I believe it got sparked by my fundamental rule of thumb that you always need something to fall back to if your startup fails. Startup bankruptcy is always a possibility and nothing to be a shame of. Folding in a company that is going nowhere is a sign of a truly senior entrepreneur.

Colorful language aside, the "screw someone else" deserves exploration from a content point of view because I think it reflects a misconception a lot of people have about venture funding.

An absolute rule for me is that you should not invest everything you have. You should never issue a second mortgage on your house, bet your kids' education money or your parents retirement savings. If your startup fails you might be left with nothing. You have no last safety net. You may fall so low that you never come back again. This is, of course, stupid.

This is why funding a risky startup with a bank loan is an absolute no. A bank will require some form of collateral from you, as a person. If you can't afford to loose that collateral than if the company fails the bank will collect and leave you with nothing.

So, what are the alternatives? Well your extra money is okay. I funded OutSystems initially with 50,000 euros from my own savings. But I planned always on loosing that money. I planned that if that happened my basic survival needs would not be affected.

The only feasible way of funding a company with real money, short of asking your very rich relatives for it, is venture capital. Venture capital is exactly that. Capital that is assumed to go on an adVenture. VCs have a structured way of working where they hedge their risk by spreading their investments among tens of companies assuming some will fold. They get hefty rewards from the ones that succeed which compensate for the others that fail. 

Now, why is this "screwing someone else?"