Dismantling the myths around raising your first check As startups and venture capital grow in tandem, fundraising has gone from a formal affair on Sand Hill Road to a process that can happen anywhere from Twitter to Zoom. While fundraising may no longer require a trip to California, it might depend on whether you got an invite to a private audio app. And while you may not need to be an insider, second-time founders — largely male and white — still have a competitive advantage. If your intention is to build a company that you want to own and run indefinitely, and/or to grow more slowly and take fewer risks, traditional venture capital is not right for what you want to build.