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Strategic investments in early startups  

As many startups are created by people with ties to related industries, it can be very tempting to look for "strategic investment" from the businesses that you have the strongest links with. This article makes a good case for why that's a bad idea.

The right way to accept strategic investment is from a position of power and independence, and this is best exemplified by the recent investment by WPP in Buddy Media. Buddy had just raised $15 million Series C at a high valuation in the wake of building a massively successful, fast-growing business.

More from the library:
A startup escape path
Questions to ask a VC
Don't dwell on startup mistakes