CHAPTERS
No-valuation-negotiation philosophy: the app price is the deal
Dalton and Michael open by emphasizing a core Standard Capital rule: no negotiating valuation with founders. If a company is accepted, Standard simply invests at the valuation the founder wrote in the application—no back-and-forth.
Why Standard Capital exists: applying YC-style selection to Series A
Michael frames the episode as a post-cycle update, and Dalton explains the original motivation: take what worked at Y Combinator and adapt it to the Series A process. They saw a mismatch between YC selection and traditional A-round fundraising, and wanted to make the next-round process simpler and more consistent.
First-cycle results: nine companies funded and early traction
Dalton shares that Standard has funded nine companies so far, with only a couple publicly announced at the time of recording. The tone suggests momentum and that more transparency/announcements may come later.
Biggest surprise: massive awareness, applications, and strong word-of-mouth
Dalton’s biggest learning is that far more founders heard about Standard than expected. This led to a much heavier application-review load and many more interviews, but also revealed a high quality bar in the applicant pool.
The Standard timeline: two meetings, fast decisions, two-week end-to-end process
Dalton outlines the process from application deadline to decision: first-round interviews quickly after the deadline, then an in-person second meeting, with final decisions shortly after. The emphasis is speed and minimal founder time compared to traditional Series A fundraising.
Time burden for founders: ~20-minute interview, ~30-minute meeting, plus a few hours writing
They quantify the founder workload: a longer-than-YC first interview (20 minutes) and a 30-minute in-person second meeting, plus application writing time. Dalton estimates the application itself typically takes a couple hours, and argues it’s a useful strategic exercise.
Diligence expectations: Standard does the digging; founders share docs if well-run
Even though the process is lightweight for founders, Standard still does diligence and requests documents. Dalton argues that operationally organized companies can provide materials quickly, and the heavy lifting should be on the investor side to review and evaluate.
Advice for future applicants: apply multiple times and apply earlier than you think
Dalton encourages repeat applications and early applications, mirroring a YC-like approach: reuse the same application and update what changed. He argues there’s no penalty for applying early or before you’re fully certain about raising.
Founder-named valuation: how it works and why it changes behavior
A defining innovation is that founders set their own valuation in the application. Dalton notes some founders calibrated this well relative to traction (and tended to get funded), while others appeared to pick numbers without much thought or good advice.
No counters, no renegotiation: misunderstanding leads to rejections
They explain a key point some applicants missed: Standard won’t counteroffer if valuation is off. Because of high volume, they simply pass and focus on companies whose traction supports the stated price.
Valuation sets the bar: choosing 120 post vs 60 post changes acceptance threshold
Dalton describes valuation as a linear tradeoff: a higher price requires a proportionally more compelling company. They still want to fund high-valuation companies, but only when the traction and excitement clearly justify it.
An opt-out from traditional fundraising: no deck-building or VC pitch circuit required
Dalton and Michael contrast Standard with typical Series A norms, arguing it’s designed as an alternative to the pitch-heavy process. They highlight successful applicants who hadn’t built a deck or talked to other investors—Standard was a deliberate choice to avoid the standard grind.
Critique of VC self-confidence: ‘we already know all the good companies’ is a bad sign
Michael recounts VCs claiming their processes are already founder-friendly or that they already know every good company. Dalton argues that believing you already know all the good companies implies a broken mindset and suggests you shouldn’t be investing.
Next application window: early January deadline, late applications accepted
They close with logistics: applications open in late December with a deadline in early January. Dalton confirms late applications are allowed and read, though batching around the deadline helps the team move faster and run interviews efficiently.
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