Hi HN,<p>In the media I read, which includes a wide range of startup and finance blogs, founders themselves are always - without exception! - portrayed as the representatives of each startup in capital negotiations.<p>This seems crazy!<p>Surely, if the above is true, founders would be leaving money on the table when negotiating against VCs; investors seek to maximise their return, and they don’t do so by making investments that are sub-optimal to the opportunities presented to them. If they can - as trained negotiators and analysts - get a better deal, they will take that opportunity.<p>Not only have I received an impression that the above is as it is at seed and series A stages, but also at far later stages until around about the time that a startup’s equity begins have liquidity (i.e. trading begins on second markets etc).<p>The question I am alluding to here, HN, is - Are there market participants, invisible or ignored in my readings, that act to represent founders in negotiations?