... inflation. What would have been good enough for a Series A round 5 years ago is now the requirement for Seed - WAUs/MAUs/MRR etc. There is also the consideration of the market as well that means VCs can be more choosy with who they invest in, making it harder. I think with the tools that are out and about right now you can get to the idea validation stage in a short time for <$50k total investment (if you want ... ... slower compounding (most of the time), more constraints on bets, less ability to brute-force distribution. Beyond "pressure", VC is forced ambition, access to unfair advantages, and sometimes necessary for category leadership. So in the end it not freedom vs