[kngspook]

Like you said, all the negative things you feared would come to pass have, in fact, already come to pass. Companies regularly hide information, mislead everyone they're legally allowed to, and outright lie. And no one is surprised.

No one in business, any business, at any level pays for goods and services what they think they are worth. They pay the minimum that they think will be accepted.

The idea that someone on the opposite side of the negotiating table has your best interests at heart and is going to be as generous as they can with you is naive. Occasionally it happens, but it's not probable and not something anyone should rely on. And this holds whether we're discussing purchaser-supplier, founder-vc, employee-employer, or customer-seller.

This is not to say that the people opposite the table are bad people, and once the terms of the relationship have been agreed upon, they will often go above and beyond to help you out. But everyone will negotiate in their self-interest first.