Suppose you have 40% of the co and you raise $1m at a valuation of $10m. Afterward you have 36%. Whereas if you raise $1m at a valuation of $20m, you have 38% afterward. Doubling the valuation only gets you 1/18 more equity.
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If you compare funding offers not by valuation but by the amount of the company you have left afterward (which is what actually matters), you'll be less tempted by higher valuations.
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If you have an offer at a somewhat lower valuation from an investor you like a lot more, take that one.
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By this token, founders should be a lot more valuation-sensitive in the early stages, when they presumably own a lot more of the company.
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Founders don't optimize purely for themselves. As management they have a fiduciary responsibility to all shareholders. That becomes greater in later stages when there are more people on the cap table. You typically also have more leverage in later rounds.
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But an investor you like and can add value can pump your value disproportionately for the following round and help you discount less.
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Where can I get to read it
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Super valid point, in general. Context matters though. Not all equity is equal. The devil is in the details of the shareholders agreement (voting rights, preferred returns, anti-dilution, tag along and drag along rights, etc)
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Equity should be planned just like any other part of the business. How much money in how many rounds will you need to reach unicorn status? If you know these, or can at least guess at them, then you can plan your equity and valuations accordingly.
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