Venture capitalism is glamorous. But is it smart? Securing a huge series A investment round can get founders on the covers of magazines, but VC can take as much as it gives. CEO of Brava Investments Nathalie Molina Niño offers a straightforward piece of advice to all entrepreneurs: “Do not take venture capital from any investor, no matter what terms they’re giving you, unless you’re willing to be fired from your own company,” she says. For female and minority entrepreneurs, this advice is even more important—yet so much harder to follow once you know the stats. Female-founded companies currently get just 2.5% of all venture capital. For women of color, that number drops down to 0.2%. If this underfunded (and potentially desperate) group accepts poor venture capital packages with horrible terms, it can only end in disaster, Molina Niño warns. “It’s going to produce a whole series and maybe even a whole generation of entrepreneurs that were disproportionately more likely to fail… They’re going to look at stats that simply say that women and people of color fail at a greater rate than anyone else.” While venture capital is the most romanticized type of investment, Molina Niño outlines several fundraising alternatives that let founders stay in control of their companies. This is the advice every entrepreneur, regardless of demographics, needs to hear. Nathalie Molina Niño is the author of Leapfrog: The New Revolution for Women Entrepreneurs

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