Entrepreneurs: Turning the screws down on investors will just lead to a very long round.

It's tough to raise money these days, especially if you don't want to mortgage your house or run a big credit card debt.  So, you need to provide terms that are in the norm.  When you're raising your first (or second) angel round, typically you (and your attorney) will provide/present a term sheet for the round.  It's tempting for first-time entrepreneurs to "turn the screws down" on the terms.  By this, I mean making the terms favorable to the founders to the point that they just aren't attractive to the investor anymore.  If the going rate for interest on a convertible debt is 8%, then make it 8%, not 5%.  If the going rate for a bridge discount is 30% make it 30%, not 10%, etc.  If your company is successful, the difference in these terms won't matter.  Giving up a bit here will close your round faster, get you the money you need, and everyone will win.  You don't know what the terms should be?  Your attorney will know.  If he doesn't, then get a different attorney.  Ask him what terms you need to get your round closed by a certain date.  Then get the term sheet out, get the round closed, and get on with running your company.

These days, you need to be capital-efficient

Back in the 90's, VCs would put millions of dollars in a high-tech start-up, and patiently wait several years for the start-up to build its hardware product (software is a different story).  If the product was successful, everyone won, and many did.  It's not that way anymore for most investments.  Unless you truly have a blockbuster hardware product, these days your start-up needs to be capital-efficient:  less money has to go farther, and the point in time when your start-up either gets springboarded to the next level or gets its plug pulled is shorter.  Keep that in mind when developing your funding strategy and product roll-out strategy.