Dear hustlers, founders, operators and visionaries,

VC or bootstrapping? Success or failure? Growth or control? Every founder makes these choices—but few talk about the real consequences.

Lea von Bidder has played both games. She raised $50M for Ava, chased hypergrowth, and then lost control when her Series C collapsed. Now, with expeerly, she’s bootstrapping—on her terms. In today’s episode, she shares what she learned about the hidden costs of VC, the emotional toll of failure, and how founders can make the right funding choice for their business.

Exclusively for our newsletter subscribers, Lea has shared additional insights below.

🎧 Tune in now on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube. In the meantime: Follow the Gradient and stay tuned!

🫶🏼 Melanie & Christian

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The VC trap, failure myths and the power of bootstrapping:

What you will get out of this episode

In our conversation, Lea shares:

• Why venture capital isn’t just about funding—it’s about control.

• How most founders pick the wrong investors—and the #1 thing you should do before signing a term sheet.

• Why she believes bootstrapping is the smarter play today—and how to actually make it work.

• How the ‘founder cult’ makes failure feel personal, and what she’s still struggling with.

• Her biggest regret from Ava—and what she’d do differently if she started again.

  … and much more!

Our main take away’s

1. The VC treadmill can be a trap: Once you raise money, you’re locked into constantly chasing your next valuation. There’s no stability—you either keep growing or die.
   

2. Failure in Europe vs. Silicon Valley: In the US, failure is just part of the journey. In Europe? It seems career-ending. Founders are afraid to take risks because of the fear of public shame.
   

3. Bootstrapping has never been easier: With AI, automation, and no-code tools, founders don’t need millions to build something big. Lea believes now is the best time in history to bootstrap.

4. The founder cult is an illusion: We celebrate individual founders as heroes—but when a company fails, that same founder takes all the blame. The truth? Success and failure are never about just one person.
   

5. Your startup is not your identity: This is the hardest lesson. When Ava collapsed, it felt like Lea failed as a person. It’s crucial to have something outside your startup, family, friends, hobbies, anything. If your entire self-worth comes from your company, its success or failure will define you.

Additional material on the topic

• The very personal LinkedIn post that Lea shared a few months ago called “Fail forward”

How to reach out to Lea

• LinkedIn

• Her latest venture, expeerly - a video review platform

Exclusive from Lea

What’s the best piece of advice about dealing with investors?

Overall, investors want to help and want to be part of your journey. But they also aren’t always right and regularly disagree with one another. I believe it’s best to bring them close to the journey, loop them in early but also to be absolutely unafraid to go in a different direction than advised.

For founders bootstrapping today, what’s one underrated growth strategy that worked for you at Expeerly?

We started with agency deals to keep us afloat until our actual business picked up. Sometimes businesses need more time to be built but you need cashflow earlier – that was our way to do it.

What do you think is the biggest myth founders believe about failure?

That it’s the end of their career. It’s usually the beginning.

What’s the one mindset shift that made the biggest difference in how you operate as a founder?

The goal isn’t the exit, the goal is to enjoy the journey.

Are there any books, podcasts, or frameworks that have helped and inspired you?

Book: 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership - A New Paradigm for Sustainable Success by by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, and Kaley Klemp

Podcast: How I built this by Guy Raz