[carlosjobim]

> The investors would want a return on their investment soon

Investors have no say on how the company is run at this stage and frankly no right to anything from Kagi until they get a company valuation from selling actual shares. That's how SAFE notes work. And the founder will probably still have more shares than all VC investors combined after that.

Also, literally everything you use in daily life is made by companies who have investor backing. They are people, just like you. Some are greedy without limit just like most people, some just want to invest in quality companies with healthy business models. That's a proven concept for long-term returns.

[colesantiago]

I'll repeat:

> Investors would want a return on their investment soon.

This doesn't change the fact that Kagi is funded by VCs and the product will become a victim to product decay or "enshittification".

> Also, literally everything you use in daily life is made by companies who have investor backing.

Uh, No?

There are many 100% bootstrapped companies that don't succumb to this and are funded by just making money, even I have one.

[carlosjobim]

Your argument isn't helped by repeating it. The VC investors have zero leverage over Kagi, since the investment is in the form of SAFE notes. So they cannot force any schedule for return on their investments.

All initial investments into a new business are VC investments, so you're basically saying that any company who has taken investments is going to become a bad business. Which is just not reality. My local grocery store was built by venture investments from the local community. You have to learn and look up the word definitions. The people here on HN have no clue what venture capital is.

A 100% boot strapped company is common when it comes to smaller businesses, but any larger venture will have investor backing. I also have a 100% boot strapped business, but I'm not building factories or international brands.