Aggressive liquidation preferences tend to be a consequence of less competitive funding rounds. Investors are accepting less upside in exchange for guarantees. If the team isn’t happy with the terms, they can make more progress before raising to increase competition. Alternatively, they can avoid fundraising and try for profitability. Some ideas on that here — https://hackernoon.com/3-ways-to-fix-your-startups-cash-crunch-a1ffdd8a1b26#.3uzql1a0i