Linear Co-founder Karri Saarinen Shares Positive VC Fundraising Experience
Karri Saarinen, co-founder of Linear, stated that he does not have many horror stories about VCs, with the worst experience being polite rejections due to lack of mutual interest.
He adopted a different strategy for fundraising: maintaining a posture of not needing money, only making formal pitches when both parties are genuinely interested, starting with small angel investments, and focusing on product development with his three co-founders; Sequoia proactively reached out after the company announcement and eventually led the seed round at the right time, with subsequent rounds involving efficient discussions and assigning tasks to VCs.
In terms of market mechanisms, founders buy into reliable VC networks and mutual cooperation while selling off forced pitches and power imbalances; event-driven, Saarinen publicly shares experiences that lead to efficient fundraising practices and product-driven startups, benefiting from VCs who focus on long-term relationships and founders dedicated to product development, while being pressured by traditional fundraising paths that rely heavily on numerous pitches.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
Karri Saarinen has gradually formed a strategy of "fundraising only when not needing money" from his first startup in 2012 to Linear's fundraising journey after 2019. This sharing continues to emphasize the path of founder control and relationship building, highlighting the deep discussions from early polite rejections to Sequoia's proactive follow-up and task assignments, showcasing the contribution of platforms like YC to the balance of power with VCs.
In terms of capital pathways, Linear's approach of starting with small angel investments and product-driven growth mobilizes VC resources to come closer, motivated by reducing dilution pressure and filtering true supporters. Strategically, transforming memo tasks and face-to-face discussions into efficient decision-making mechanisms also establishes a long-term mutual trust foundation for subsequent rounds.
Similar to successful cases in past cycles where founders controlled the pace, the current startup fundraising environment is transitioning from VC dominance to founder product-driven approaches. Saarinen's experience provides a positive template to counter common horror story narratives.
Essentially, this represents capital concentration: founders replace heavy reliance on numerous pitches with product strength and relationship building, reversing information asymmetry, and pushing VCs from power dominance to value co-creation, accelerating the matching efficiency of quality projects with long-termist capital.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
Fundraising is easiest when not needing money; those who build products first gain leverage.
Polite rejections are more common than horror stories; reciprocal discussions surpass forced pitches.
Founders controlling the pace equates to pricing power, filtering true believers first to control long-term capital pathways.