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.

This seems crazy!

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.

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).

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?