Oh yes it can! It is called the Investor Agreement. A 10% shareholder or less can control the company if the terms are in the agreement. Most agreements are not publicly available so it is difficult to know what is going on when you compare deals. Have you ever made an angel investment and then regreted that you did not have more control? VCs have. It is like who wins in the end, it all depends on the x of the VC investment. It is not what it says on the can, it is what's inside that matters.
Great essay. How about turning it into a "rich illustration" so everyone can see it and talk about it? Look at my site to see what Dill can achieve http://www.equityfingerprint.com/. Anyone like the idea?
Lots of companies in Cambridge, UK, start up from business plan competitions. Sure, the really top entrepreneurs may turn there noses up at such competitions but the rest benefit so much and more people understand the start-up process.
Also the sponsors love it and provide food and wine for the networking events.
Then the Mums and Dads also read about start-ups in the news and people everywhere are more supportive of entrepreneurship