As a startup founder, raising capital is a crucial step towards achieving growth and success. In the complex world of startup financing, understanding the motivations of different types of investors can be the key to avoiding pitfalls and securing the best deal for your company. Episode 10 of "Startup: Confidential" sheds light on these challenges, focusing on the contrasting motivations of private equity firms, venture capitalists, and strategic investors.

Private equity firms often have a different approach to investing compared to venture capitalists and strategic investors. While venture capitalists typically support early-stage companies with high growth potential, private equity firms target more mature companies, often seeking to gain control and implement aggressive cost-cutting measures to maximize returns. Strategic investors, on the other hand, look for synergies with their existing business, leveraging the startup's technology or market position to enhance their own operations.

The allure of life-changing money can cloud founders' judgement, pushing them to close deals without fully understanding the risks involved. This becomes especially challenging when a deal involves not only a significant equity financing round but also a secondary sale of founders' shares, resulting in newfound wealth and the temptation to prioritize personal gain over the long-term interests of the company.

In Episode 10 of "Startup: Confidential," we follow the story of Explosive.io, a company that seemingly has it all – investor interest, market traction, and the prospect of becoming overnight millionaires. However, behind the façade lies a hollow shell of a company, and the founders' eagerness to secure a deal with a private equity firm may prove to be their undoing. What sinister plans does the private equity firm have in store for Explosive.io, and how will the founders navigate the treacherous waters of startup financing?

Nimrod Vromen is also the author of Prompting Happiness - a book about the pursuit of happiness in the age of artificial intelligence (now on Amazon).

Jordan is managing partner of Global Upscale, an international marketing and design firm, which produced this series.