Solo Founders How To Fundraise As A Solo Founder | Charles Hudson (Precursor Ventures)
Mar 18, 2026
Charles Hudson, founder and managing partner at Precursor Ventures and solo GP with 500+ investments, shares hard data and sharp takes. He challenges the co‑founder consensus, details cap table dangers when founders split, and explains why solo founders can outperform mismatched teams. Topics include breakup rates, dead equity, investor biases, hiring early roles, and the emotional toll of going it alone.
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Co-Founder Breakups Are Common And Costly
- 25–30% of Precursor's portfolio lose a co-founder before Series A, so co-founder breakups are common.
- Charles Hudson says many departures create dead equity and disrupt fundraising and operations, so founder structure is a real failure vector.
Dead Equity Harms Fundraising
- Departing co-founders often leave substantial equity (20–25%), producing cap table damage that scares new investors.
- Precursor now rigorously reviews vesting schedules and negotiates buyouts or temporary stays to rebalance ownership.
Rivalry And Resentment Destroy Founding Teams
- Rivalry and resentment are primary drivers of co-founder breakups and often escalate into irreparable conflict.
- Hudson finds rivalry (power plays) and simmering resentment (small slights growing into narratives) especially toxic and hard to repair.