Dave Kashen argues that skipping venture capital doesn't mean your startup failed. Bootstrapping and slower-growth businesses that generate cash are valid alternatives to Silicon Valley's obsession with hypergrowth.
Not being able to raise money from venture or private equity does not mean that you don't have a good company. It might mean you don't have a venture-scale company or a private equity growth company, and that's okay. We live in this culture, especially around Silicon Valley, where there's this idea that there's one way to do it and building this mass-scale hypergrowth business is the only way to be successful. That's crazy. That's not even what everyone wants. I know some of the happiest entrepreneurs that have bootstrapped businesses that are growing slowly, that are spinning off cash, and they love what they do every day. They love the pace that they work at, and they don't have the pressures of a hyperscale business. And that's not weak or bad or wrong. It's just a different preference and a different way to build a company.
