Seed VCs say pro rata is not up for negotiation

Seed VCs say pro rata is not up for negotiationWatch now (101 mins) | Sam Lessin, Paige Doherty, and Jenny Fielding side with Day One Ventures on the Valar Atomics lawsuit
͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     
Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more
You’re reading the free edition. Paid subscribers get a Tactical & Practical founder tip every weekday. That’s 250+ tips a year for around 40 cents each.
Upgrade to paid

Watch now

Seed VCs say pro rata is not up for negotiation
Sam Lessin, Paige Doherty, and Jenny Fielding side with Day One Ventures on the Valar Atomics lawsuit
This Week In
Oct 28 

READ IN APP

When Valar Atomics sued its seed investor, Day One Ventures, over pro rata rights, many founders and even investors on X took the startup’s side. But on this week’s TWiST VC roundtable, all of our guest investors made the case for the importance of pro rata rights.
According to Sam Lessin of Slow Ventures, the entire seed investment business model “doesn’t work without pro rata rights.” When a founder asks him to give his up after a round or two, his response is always the same: “You’ll be hearing from my lawyers.”
Jenny Fielding of Everywhere Ventures questions why an agreed-to stipulation in a contract should be any easier to “take back” than shares themselves. Paige Doherty of Behind Genius Ventures notes that, often, founders sign these documents without understanding why these terms matter of the funds in the first place. She takes pains to make this clear up front, so there’s no confusion later.
The panel also discusses the new Nathan Fielder-Elizabeth Holmes documentary “You Can See Everything,” and answers the $100 million question: Would you back a new company from Holmes, if everything looked good on paper?
Guests
Sam Lessin on X
Slow Ventures
Paige Finn Doherty on X
Behind Genius Ventures
Jenny Fielding on X
Everywhere Ventures
Relevant Links
OpenSnow
“You Can See Everything” trailer
HBO Max “The Rehearsal” trailer
Elizabeth Holmes moves to halfway house in 2027 (ABC7)
Billy Evans’ blood-testing startup Haemanthus (TechCrunch)
Polymarket: Oscars 2027 Best Picture
Kalshi: Oscars 2027 Best Documentary
Charlie Javice sentenced to 7 years (NBC News)
Trump pardons Nikola founder Trevor Milton (Axios)
Sequoia writes its FTX stake down to zero (Fortune)
Who lost money on Theranos? (Fortune)
“Barbarians at the Gate” on Amazon
a16z backs Adam Neumann’s Flow (Commercial Observer)
Martin Shkreli lifetime pharma ban (FTC)
Isaiah Taylor post announcing Valar suit
Day One Ventures response
ElevenLabs Iconic Marketplace
Apple Corps vs. Apple Computer, a history (MacTech)
Cameo for Business
Nox Metals
Electric Plant Company
Ablieration
Follow TWiST:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups
Substack: 
This Week in Startups NewsletterTactics, workflows, and strategies from experienced founders, every weekday, to help you build a better company.
By This Week In
You’re a free subscriber. Upgrade to get a complete Tactical & Practical tip every weekday, plus the complete T&P archive. 
Upgrade to paid
TWiST was created by Jason Calacanis and the team from LAUNCH.
Follow along: X | YouTube | Instagram
Know a founder who should apply this tactic? Forward it to them!
TWiST Founding Subscribers: Join Founder University | 

Like Comment Restack 

© 2026 Jason Calacanis and LAUNCH
548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104 
Unsubscribe