Venture-funded startups grow way beyond their means because they have to.

Time and time again we get asked by (typically bootstrapped) Founders about why in the hell venture-funded startups love that so-called "fake growth."

You've seen this before, when a new startup raises gobs of venture capital, hires hundreds of new people, burns through tens of millions of dollars (or more!), and then later on has to crash and burn the whole thing because it never actually made any money.

From the outside, it seems insane. What Founders don't realize is that this whole "fake growth strategy" isn't just some bizarre misstep - it's an actual playbook. We look at stories like WeWork and ask "How could anyone let that happen?" Well, it turns out, there's...