Jain: Early VC would have killed Bilt's 18-month regulatory fight
Ankur Jain · Billionaire Founder: No One Tells You This About Starting A Company | Ankur Jain · May 13, 2026 · at 54:52
Ankur Jain, founder of Bilt Rewards, explains why bootstrapping early allowed them to spend 18 months securing federal approvals instead of chasing short-term growth metrics.
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“If I had raised venture capital money at the beginning of the company, there's no way I would have had the freedom to make the decision to fight for 18 months to go try to solve that. Because we were looking at this for a 10, 20, 30 year opportunity was worth it. If I had taken venture money and they were looking for, well, how are you going to raise your next round in 12 months at a higher price, we would have just gone out and been forced to launch something that was very different and hadn't spent the time invested in building that foundation.”
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