And if there is an exit, it's the best of both worlds.
Smart fundraising adds value for everyone.
(1) Cash (2) Credibility (3) Operational help/advice
This feels like a bundle that might get redone.
Already venture capital unbundles cash from credibilty/endorsement. Angel investors provide both. A VC uses their own credibility to scout good investment opportunities, which then receive cash from limited partners. VCs often invest in their own funds, but just enough to make limited partners believe they have "skin in the game": the real thing they have on the line isn't capital, but their reputation as good deal-pickers, which let them raise funds later from their investors, limited partners.
I wonder if someday, there won't be a class of people who are pure reputational endorsers, who say "this company is going to do well", and that signal by itself is enough to attract a big amount of pure cash.
Maybe the "I like this" and the "I'm putting my money in this" have to be the same in order for others to believe the "endorser" has enough skin in the game.