In polished terms, it’s called content marketing. The cost of starting a business is lower than ever, and many startups are profitable without ever raising venture capital. VC firms are multiplying, and competition among them is fierce. Rather than scrambling to build an audience when you need it, establish one early—it’ll pay off down the road, whether you’re hiring for a portfolio company or scouting a new project.
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Flip the perspective: rules serve as barriers to entry, and the real value lies in knowing how to work within them. The world rewards those who know how to use the rules.
No one can guarantee a sale or build strong business relationships with every client contact you have. That won't get deals done—it only ensures those people won't actively work against you.
If no amount of effort will get you anywhere, it’s better to just play nice from the start. Offering up a loss that’s already irreversible as a gesture of goodwill beats throwing money down the drain and making enemies in the process.
If you invest in a company and can prove you had no involvement in its operations, you can distance yourself from any trouble the operators get into, positioning yourself as another victim rather than a操盘者.