Industry standard practice is that startups pay for costs associated with deals, not capitalists. That one is virtually universal. The grapevine tells me that it is not uncommon to see VCs travelling as board members. Some of them don't exactly fly coach.
The management fees do pay for the swanky offices, assistants, expensive meals, strippers, golf, computers, very significant travel expenses (unrelated to board meetings), etc.
And fees are not necessarily split equally across partners. One senior partner might take 20-50% in some cases.
Industry standard practice is that startups pay for costs associated with deals, not capitalists. That one is virtually universal. The grapevine tells me that it is not uncommon to see VCs travelling as board members. Some of them don't exactly fly coach.