JOHN COWAN - Venture Capital 2.0 (Page 3)

A Live Dilution Model Every Software Founder Should Understand Before Fundraising

members – 4 min read

A founder prepares to raise venture capital—unaware that each round chips away at ownership, control, and future leverage. This case study breaks down a dilution model that reveals the hidden costs behind every funding milestone. Read before you raise.

Apr 7, 2025

JOHN COWAN

Assessing Startup Stock Allocation

members – 5 min read

Startup equity allocation is one of the most consequential decisions founders face. This article introduces a simple spreadsheet tool for founders and venture studio operators to help navigate a tricky subject.

Mar 23, 2025

JOHN COWAN

Beyond Accounting: Why Venture Studios Must Separate Financial Oversight from Investment Strategy

members – 6 min read

This article highlights the importance of independent CFO oversight in venture studios to prevent conflicts of interest and proposes a governance framework for Venture Studio Operators

Mar 17, 2025

JOHN COWAN

Broligarchy Endgame: Total Monopoly Through Government-Backed Intelligent Infrastructure

public – 3 min read

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This multi-part essay explores Silicon Valley’s meteoric rise in influence over public infrastructure, the monopolization of autonomous systems, and what can be done to prevent a new era of digital feudalism in the wake of the current regime’s ambition to run America like a private corporation.

Mar 5, 2025

JOHN COWAN

2025 Strategic Framework for Venture Studios - Part I: Venture Reciprocity Re-revisited

members – 8 min read

Welcome to the 2025 Venture Studio Framework. Part I further elaborates on Venture Reciprocity, addressing why traditional models fail. Part II outlines optimal governance and multi-state operations. Part III unveils revenue-based financing as the key to sustainable growth.

Jan 28, 2025

JOHN COWAN

2025 Venture Capital Industry Forecast

public – 6 min read

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In 2024, capital concentration among dominant VC firms reached unprecedented levels. As inefficiencies widen, 2025 will mark a recalibration of early-stage investing, with venture studios emerging as a sustainable model to fill funding gaps and challenge the Power Law Cartel.

Dec 28, 2024

JOHN COWAN

Alternative Financing Strategies for Venture Studio Managers: Analyzing Safer Returns

paid – 7 min read

Venture studios face challenges with traditional VC models tied to long-term illiquidity and Power Law returns. This analysis explores the potential of the Safer model—a revenue-based financing approach

Dec 1, 2024

JOHN COWAN

Analysis: Wefunder's New Hybrid Investment Instrument

members – 14 min read

Subscribe now to learn about Wefunder’s new SAFE+Revenue Loan and explore how it could impact startup financing and which tech segments are best suited to take advantage of it.

Nov 23, 2024

JOHN COWAN

Geographic Alpha: Using Spatial Arbitrage to Optimize Venture Studio Strategy

members – 19 min read

This research introduces the Spatial Arbitrage™️ framework, a quantitative methodology for evaluating markets based on talent mobility and growth potential. Subscribe to access the full analysis, including rankings, scoring methodology, implementation framework, and LP evaluation guidelines.

Nov 19, 2024

JOHN COWAN

A Constructive Critique of Time Dislocation Theory in Venture Capital

members – 12 min read

This isn't a cyclical downturn to be waited out - mounting evidence suggests we're witnessing the death of a funding model that can no longer sustain its own mathematics, creating space for new approaches better adapted to funding next-generation innovation.

Nov 12, 2024

JOHN COWAN

Lipstick on a Unicorn: Continuation Funds and the Art of VC Self-Deception

members – 4 min read

The venture capital industry’s gravitation to continuation funds masks deeper structural issues and points to an industry clinging to life, not re-invention.

Oct 18, 2024

JOHN COWAN