Why Venture Capital Needs to Be Service-Aware, Not Service-First

By Austin Walters

Startups don’t fail because they lack services — they fail because they lack leadership. In this guest article for VCWire, SpringTide Ventures founder and managing partner Austin Walters examines the growing trend of “value-add” venture capital and why operational services alone rarely determine startup success. Drawing on experience investing in healthcare innovation, Walters argues that founders must master core disciplines like product-market fit, sales, culture, and regulatory navigation. The best investors, he writes, act as multipliers—helping founders build capability rather than dependency.

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This article was originally published in VCWire.