# Vibe Alignment

By [AVC](https://avc.xyz) · 2026-02-03

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[Michael Dempsey](https://www.michaeldempsey.me/) has a great framing for the secret sauce in the founder/VC relationship. He calls it "vibe alignment" in [this excellent and far-reaching post about where we are in the startup/VC world right now](https://mhdempsey.substack.com/p/vc-backed-startups-are-low-status).

It is certainly possible and probably quite common to build a successful company with an investor syndicate you don't relate to and don't like. But it is not fun.

The rare thing is to build a successful company with an investor syndicate you love working with. I've had the pleasure of doing this many times in my career. It is what I seek out. It is the primary thing I like about VC and startups. It is what keeps me engaged after all these years.

When vibe alignment happens between a founding team and their investor group, it is magic. It makes it easier to correctly make those five to ten hard decisions that determine the trajectory of a company.

As Michael points out in his terrific and timely post, the institutional revolving door nature of VC right now makes finding vibe alignment harder and many founders just opt for the best financial deal. That's entirely rational behavior.

But it takes all of the fun out of it, unfortunately.

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*Originally published on [AVC](https://avc.xyz/vibe-alignment)*