---
title: 'Moving beyond venture capital: Portland’s Luke Kanies proposes we rethink the financing of software startups'
date: '2017-10-05T13:34:27-07:00'
type: post
word_count: 270
char_count: 1738
tokens: 351
categories:
  - Oregon
  - Portland
  - Startups
  - VC
tags:
  - 'luke kanies'
  - Portland
  - puppet
  - VC
  - 'venture capital'
  - zebra
---

# Moving beyond venture capital: Portland’s Luke Kanies proposes we rethink the financing of software startups

Not so long ago, banks were a viable means of financing business. But as the terms of that financing became more inaccessible and onerous, we saw new models arise. One of those models was venture capital. Now—thanks in part to efforts like the [Zebra movement](https://www.zebrasunite.com/ "Zebras Unite")—the VC model is beginning to show its own imperfections, inadequacies, and inaccessibility. So it only makes sense that folks would start thinking about new models for financing. [One of those folks is Portland’s Luke Kanies](https://shift.newco.co/moving-beyond-silicon-valley-software-companies-da259aea6a1c "Moving Beyond Silicon Valley Software Companies"), founder and former CEO of [Puppet](https://puppet.com "Puppet").

Luke is working to capture his thoughts in a series of blog posts that speak specifically to financing software companies.

To wit:

> Unfortunately, venture capital is structured to require trauma to everyone involved except the investors. Too often, even the limited partners who are the source of capital suffer, with only a few firms delivering the kind of returns that the asset class purports to offer. The industry is built around making many bets and expecting most to fail. Even worse, every company who wants to participate must make a claim to be able to reach these heights, even if they don’t believe it, and then they must risk their own death attempting to keep that promise.

For more, read [Moving Beyond Silicon Valley Software Companies](https://shift.newco.co/moving-beyond-silicon-valley-software-companies-da259aea6a1c "Moving Beyond Silicon Valley Software Companies").