It most assuredly depends a great deal on the field. I'm in a particularly advantageous position, and I recognize this. "Wet" science typically requires a lot more equipment, but bear in mind that this is also greatly mitigated by working with a university.
Regarding grant writing, it is a pain in the ass, but the terms very generous, and universities have no qualms about letting you borrow their grant writers. At the end of the day, it makes little sense to sell shares for 1 million USD when $100k ensures that the same shares will sell for 5 million in one year.
>There are certainly some billion-dollar companies that could not survive the grant process
Billion-dollar companies are looking for billion-dollar grants. It's a question of how much one needs. For small seed funds, grants make a lot of sense.
In any case it should be obvious that, as you said, it all depends on the field. What's undeniable is that grant money comes with far more favorable terms than VC funds.
At the risk of tooting my own horn, I'm surprised YC is moving towards wet-science instead of investing in projects similar to my own; they're life-sciences with a highly computational aspect, which implies the tight development cycles they're used to. It also means they can understand what I'm talking about, at least on the implementation level.
Regarding grant writing, it is a pain in the ass, but the terms very generous, and universities have no qualms about letting you borrow their grant writers. At the end of the day, it makes little sense to sell shares for 1 million USD when $100k ensures that the same shares will sell for 5 million in one year.
>There are certainly some billion-dollar companies that could not survive the grant process
Billion-dollar companies are looking for billion-dollar grants. It's a question of how much one needs. For small seed funds, grants make a lot of sense.
In any case it should be obvious that, as you said, it all depends on the field. What's undeniable is that grant money comes with far more favorable terms than VC funds.
At the risk of tooting my own horn, I'm surprised YC is moving towards wet-science instead of investing in projects similar to my own; they're life-sciences with a highly computational aspect, which implies the tight development cycles they're used to. It also means they can understand what I'm talking about, at least on the implementation level.