There's also an M&A signaling issue with corporate VC. If, I don't know, Microsoft invests in you, potential partners and acquirers might deal with you as if Microsoft has a first-refusal right for your company.
> potential partners and acquirers might deal with you as if Microsoft has a first-refusal right for your company.
Would they be correct? ie. does accepting corporate VC investment usually require relinquishing certain rights to the parent company? It seems like a reasonable assumption but a cursory Googling didn't turn up anything meaningful.
This is definitely a concern. In the case of Google Ventures, there have been 4 acquisitions by Google of GV portfolio companies since 2009 and the partners of GV recuse themselves from those convos: http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/14/double-google-all-the-way/
