Startups Decoded #61: VCs Don’t Take Power. Founders Hand It Over. With Itamar Novick
Power in startups is rarely where founders think it is.
Itamar Novick, Founder and GP at Recursive Ventures, has worked both sides of the table as a founder, operator, angel, and VC. He’s backed 150+ early-stage companies and helped founders raise over $500M, while also building companies like Life360 and Gigya from the inside.
In this conversation, we unpack the real power dynamics between founders and investors. We get into when founders should start thinking about leverage, how power gets handed over long before a board seat shows up, and why fundraising should be run like a focused sales process, not a random hunt for capital.
Itamar also breaks down where founders get contracts and cap tables wrong, why some businesses should never raise venture, and how seed-strapping is changing the path for early-stage companies.
This episode is for founders who want to raise smart, keep control, and understand the rules before they get expensive.
Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTube
Chapters
- 00:00 Navigating the VC-founder power dynamic
- 05:12 Lessons from early fundraising
- 09:45 Iteration and learning
- 15:04 Advisors and decision-making
- 20:14 Understanding power before fundraising
- 25:13 Setting the right foundations
- 28:31 Taking control of fundraising
- 35:30 Contracts, cap tables, and control
- 41:40 Venture fit and seed-strapping
47:44 What makes founders stand out
Itamar Novick is the Founder and General Partner at Recursive Ventures, a San Francisco-based VC fund investing in US pre-seed and seed startups. Since 2010, he has invested in more than 150 early-stage companies and was named a Business Insider Top 100 Global Seed Investor from 2021 to 2025.
Before VC, Itamar was a repeat entrepreneur and startup executive, including roles at Life360 and Gigya. His investment approach is shaped by operator experience and a clear belief that founders should be empowered to build and lead for the long term.
2× exited founder and host of Startups Decoded (Top 2% globally)
Access All Areas.
Music Credit
“Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia)
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