"Resist the urge to raise and spend too much money. The track record of companies that raise $30MM or more in their first round is bad."

Q: Is the track record bad, or do they just fail louder than the ocean of companies that raise small amounts of $ and then quietly die? It'd be interesting if someone could prove that a large raise actually hurts your chances, but for a disciplined/veteran founder (who would raise a lot but spend it thoughtfully rather than recklessly), it seems like it shouldn't.

Edit: http://www.alleywatch.com/2014/02/the-10-biggest-series-a-ro... - "All of the companies are still operational in some capacity."