It's a clever idea when the market is going up, and a really dumb idea when the market drops underneath them. If they are locked into a very high rate, and the market goes down, which is always does at some point, then people will be questioning the decision since they would either need to force their companies to pay a ridiculous rate, or lose money trying to sublease it at market rate.
I dont agree and landlord is hardly the word I would use for NNN lease tenant Management.
In a market downturn in a worst case scenario...this real estate has underlying value besides its immediate income producing potential. It will likely retain more value than their actual startup investments.
Source: Im a former commercial real estate leasing broker and former commercial real estate underwriter.
The last thing VCs need to be is a landlord.