The Funds startup grows with someone else’s money. It’s a system that makes money out of young, hard-working, gullible cogs. And it has money to publicize and romanticize themselves for the next generation of cogs.

The Grants startup kind is similar to the Funds startup, only with grants.

In the end, the people you’re scamming or hurting are the taxpayers. Which is, everyone.

The people you’re courting are the governments, which are often clueless:

• if you’re doing a great thing, they probably don’t have a structure that allows them to recognize that
• if you’re doing a new thing, they probably are too scared or not ready for that
• if you’re just looking for easy cash from a crazy system, you’re a parasite

Like Funds startups, this kind need to look sexy: for the next round, for the next laborers, or for the public. You need to show encouragement or any form of ROI, so the money gone will not look like a total loss.

Accepting the government’s money comes with the responsibility to do something useful and in line with the powers in place. So you will only be hindered in your creativity and experiments.