We’ve all heard about the “Half-Bill” financing rounds that have taken over the tech news wires lately. Just last week it was Ning taking in $60 at $500 pre. Before that it was Slide at $500 with $50 invested. Rumored Rockyou at $400. Glam with $85 on a $500.. And the motherlode, the Facebook quadtrillion dollar round with gazillian ruppees invested.

So whats the common theme in all the financings? A) An investment bank was involved and B) The entrepreneurs are all smiling very widely in the pictures I saw.

If this was 2000, they would have been scared shitless worrying about their participating preferred and liquidation preferences. But instead, these guys are building new houses at pebble beach and buying Euro denominated bonds instead.

So what happened? Well, a lot . . . maybe most, of these guys (and gals) cashed out. The investment banks were able to convince the so called”dumb” money (industry term, not mine. . . remember Bowman Capital?) hedge and crossover fund investors to fork over cash to the entrepreneurs for their founders stock instead of newly issued preferred sotck in the company. This means a portion of the money that was raised didn’t go into the company’s bank account but went into buying a Ferrari instead.

Just 3 years ago, it was completely unfathomable to the VC’s that anyone would allow entrepreneurs to have an “exit” before they do . . . “what happened to aligning interest,” they used to cry. Not anymore. The tide has changed. For the better or worse I don’t know; but certainly great for entrepreneurs who deserves more than what we got in the dot-com era.

Of course, all of this is done on the down low . . . without journalists asking too much questions. How would the employees feel if they found out? What would this say about the company’s prospects when the inside-insiders cash out? . . . just smile and say no comment is what I would suggest . . . or simply say “Its good to be the entrepreneur”