What Big Tech Missed And How Startups Can Still Win
Raising large rounds creates expectation burdens that can kill startups if growth isn't visible
“if you raise 20 million and you do nothing for 2 years or people don't see anything coming out of it for 2 years, then it's very very hard to survive”— Mark Zuckerberg
A YC talk featuring a conversation about the Wit.ai acquisition by Facebook and startup fundraising strategy, with the core insight that large raises create external expectation pressure beyond just dilution. The content is primarily a nostalgic origin story — Alex Lebrun nearly deleted Zuckerberg's acquisition email as spam — and YC advice on avoiding corporate development conversations. Low AI industry signal; no new announcements, research findings, or strategic shifts.