Beyond the Check: How Investors Create Real Startup Value
- Stephanie Roulic
- May 27
- 3 min read
Raising capital is often framed as the ultimate milestone for startups. But at Startup Boston Week, a panel of ecosystem leaders argued that founders should look beyond the check.
During the session More Than Money: Turning Portfolio Support into a Competitive Edge, moderator Tricia Bitetto (Program Manager, Venture Café Cambridge) was joined by Steve Bernard (Investment Principal, Techstars), Brandon Oliver (Principal, BankTech Ventures), and Beth Porter (Head of Studio, C10 Labs) to discuss what separates truly valuable investors, accelerators, and venture studios from those that simply provide capital.
Their message was clear: in today’s market, money alone is not enough.
Why Founders Should Expect More Than a Check
According to Oliver, the venture landscape has become crowded. Thousands of firms can write checks, making capital less differentiated than many founders assume.
That means startups should ask harder questions before accepting funding. What doors can an investor open? Can they help with customers, hiring, strategy, or partnerships? Will they still be helpful two years later?
“You can demand more,” Oliver told the audience, stressing that founders should treat fundraising as the start of a long-term relationship, not a trophy moment.
For BankTech Ventures, support means something highly specific: helping fintech startups sell into community banks by vetting solutions early and creating direct access to potential customers.
That kind of support can dramatically shorten enterprise sales cycles.
Networks Still Win
For Techstars, Bernard said the real value of accelerators remains network density.
While early-stage funding can help, he described the capital portion as secondary to access: mentors, investors, customers, and operators who can help founders move faster and avoid mistakes.
“No one is an expert in everything,” Bernard said, explaining that great ecosystems are built by bringing specialists together around a founder.
He also emphasized collaboration across Boston’s startup scene, noting that accelerators often refer founders to one another depending on fit.
Venture Studios Offer a Different Model
At C10 Labs, Porter described a more hands-on approach.
Rather than only investing, venture studios often co-build alongside founders, helping shape product strategy, technical execution, and go-to-market direction. In C10’s case, much of that support centers on applied AI.
Porter said cohort-based programs also create another underrated asset: peer learning.
Founders benefit not only from advisors, but from being surrounded by others tackling similar challenges in real time.
In Tough Markets, Revenue Matters More Than Headlines
The panel also challenged founder assumptions around fundraising itself.
Oliver warned against chasing inflated valuations that can become painful later. Startups that raise at unrealistic prices often face flat rounds or down rounds when growth does not match expectations.
Bernard added that many founders pursue venture capital because it feels validating.
But not every company should raise VC.
Some businesses can become profitable, meaningful companies without needing hypergrowth or massive dilution. For many founders, owning more of a $20 million outcome may be better than owning a small slice of a unicorn attempt.
The panel repeatedly returned to one core point: revenue is often the best form of fundraising.
Free Money Still Exists…If You Know Where to Look
Another overlooked option discussed was non-dilutive funding.
Porter shared how her first company benefited from government grants, particularly SBIR funding, which helped finance growth without giving up equity. Bernard encouraged technical founders to aggressively pursue grant opportunities whenever eligible.
For the right startup, grants can buy time, extend runway, and preserve ownership.
How Founders Should Evaluate Investors
One of the strongest moments of the session came when the panel flipped the usual power dynamic.
Investors are evaluating founders, but founders should be evaluating investors just as rigorously.
That means speaking with portfolio companies, understanding where an investor adds value, and asking whether their promises match reality.
As Porter put it, founders bring value. Investors bring the money. The relationship only works when both sides benefit.
Why Boston Still Has an Edge
When asked why founders should build in Boston instead of Silicon Valley, the panelists were emphatic.
They pointed to the region’s unmatched concentration of talent, universities, industry expertise, and a startup ecosystem where people still collaborate across organizations.
Boston may feel smaller than coastal startup giants, but that can be an advantage. Relationships travel faster. Reputations matter more. Communities are tighter.
And for founders, that can be worth more than money.
