"I'll quit my job the day you fund me."

For over a decade, that line made me close the deck.

My logic was simple.
If you can't bet on yourself, why should I bet on you?
Skin in the game first. Then we talk.

I believed everyone could take that risk. I was wrong.

The founder across the table wasn't afraid of risk.
He was protecting people. A spouse. School fees.
A parent's medicine. Rent on the 1st.
Alone, he'd have jumped years ago.

But you don't gamble with the people who depend on you.
That isn't weakness.
That's responsibility.

It took me years as an investor to finally see it.

"I'll quit once it's funded" was never a red flag.
It's one of the most honest things a founder can tell you.
So we built something around that truth.

At A Foundery, you don't think about rent from day one.
Your living expenses are covered. Your only job is to find your first paying customer. Not a deck. Not a valuation. A customer who pays.

If that's the bet you've been waiting to make
the one your family couldn't afford for you to make alone
our Summer Cohort is now open come and build your dream at our Venture Studio in Princeton, New Jersey

Link below in comments..

So which is it: is "I'll quit the day you fund me" a red flag,
or the most responsible thing a founder can say?

| 𝗞𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗻𝗮 𝗟𝗮𝗸𝗮𝗺𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗶 | 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿 | 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿 |
| 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁-𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 "𝗔 𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥𝘆" | I write at the intersection of AI, capital, and the future of the human job market - sharing my life lessons, reflections, and honest takes from the founder-investor's seat.