It also depends on your goals. Do you want 10% of a $50M company or 100% of a $5M company? The former will probably have more acquisition offers, the latter is probably easier (managing a smaller team) and more realistic.
My point was, at the beginning and until we build a fundable startup, we get obsessed about finding alternative ways to raise money through consulting and freelancing (as an example) that we tend to get very comfortable with the money generated from those sources and focus less on what we aimed to raise the money for: build a startup.
Later, with a product worth investing in, Yes, like you said, it all depends on the goal. Do you want to get funded and potentially build a bigger company or bootstrap, move slower and own all of it but likely a smaller company.