Daily perspective for founders and capital
Clear, evidence-led views on fundraising, angel investing, founder strategy and the decisions that shape private markets.
Direct answer
The Mallick View is Zeeshan Mallick’s daily authority publication. It explains fundraising, angel investing, founder strategy and private-capital decisions in clear language, using data, direct sources, tables and practical answers.
| Frequency | Daily at 08:00 Dubai time |
|---|---|
| Languages | English, Spanish, Simplified Chinese and Hindi |
| Format | Clear answer, evidence, table, infographic, FAQs and direct sources |
| Author | Zeeshan Mallick |
CB Insights analysed 431 failed VC-backed companies: 43% failed due to poor product-market fit. Startup Genome analysed 3,200+ startups: 74% fail due to premature scaling. 93% of prematurely scaled startups never reach $100K monthly revenue. Properly scaled startups grow 20x faster. The data on why startups fail is unambiguous.
Read the viewStartup Snapshot surveyed 400+ founders and found 72% reported a mental health impact. 81% are not open about their stress. Founders who raise $30-70M are 83% more likely to sleep less than when they started. The psychological cost of building a company is real, measurable, and almost entirely hidden.
Read the viewA 2026 NBER study of 6,000 executives found that nearly 90% of firms say AI has had no impact on productivity. Companies have invested $250 billion in AI. Nobel laureate research predicts 0.5% productivity gain over 10 years. The layoffs are real. The productivity gains are not.
Read the viewHarvard Business School research found that 75% of VC-backed startups never return cash to investors. The industry self-reports 20-30%. The gap is not a rounding error — it is the difference between how VCs define failure and how founders experience it.
Read the viewForty percent of executive hires fail within 18 months. The true cost is 6 to 27 times the executive's annual salary. And 89% of failures are caused by attitude, not skill. Here is what the data says founders are getting wrong.
Read the viewReturn-to-office mandates are being issued by hundreds of companies. The data shows they do not improve performance, drive away top talent, and in 25% of cases are covert layoff strategies.
Read the viewDown rounds are rarer, not gone. Zee shows how new shares cause the first dilution and anti-dilution protection can move another 7.14 points away from common holders.
Read the viewA SAFE is not ownership-free bridge money. Zee shows how three simple post-money SAFEs can sell 30% before Series A and leave founders at 56% after the next round.
Read the viewA headline sale price is not the founder payout. Zee explains how liquidation preferences and participation can move millions away from common shareholders before an exit is shared.
Read the viewA large pre-money option pool can cut founder ownership before one employee is hired. Zee argues that founders should price a real hiring plan, not accept a standard percentage.
Read the viewZee argues that a board seat is not a relationship benefit. It is a governance right that can shape the CEO, strategy, funding and exit decisions.
Read the viewZee argues that a stack of simple SAFEs can quietly sell a large slice of a company before a priced round ever begins.
Read the viewZee argues that a headline valuation is not an exit plan: founders must model the preference stack before they celebrate the price.
Read the viewZee argues that founders should test an investor’s reserves, decision process and customer access before taking a famous name onto the cap table.
Read the viewA record seed valuation is not always a founder win. Zee explains why the right price must support the next proof point, not only flatter the first-round headline.
Read the viewA slow, vague investor can drain a founder’s time, runway and negotiating power. Zee’s rule is simple: seek qualified conviction, not endless soft interest.
Read the viewA high seed valuation can look like a win. Zeeshan Mallick argues that, without a clear proof plan, it can make the next round harder—not easier.
Read the viewRecord venture capital totals mask a brutal concentration. 73% of 2024 funding flowed to just 2% of startups. Founders without AI are starving.
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