[slap_shot]

I hear this come up so much and it's just trite.

I don't think anybody in Silicon Valley would say the _definition_ of a Founder is someone who takes VC money.

All companies require capital to operate. All capital has a cost. In many high growth companies, the amount of time it takes to build a product and go to market has a significant effect of how much market share that company can acquire. Selling equity or taking on debt is how many companies can reduce that time and acquire more market share.

It just happens to be that the companies Silicon Valley is most interested in are companies that have to raise capital this way, with very very few exceptions.

Now more than ever, VCs will happily tell a a founder "your business is not a business that fits with the VC model well, don't raise VC money." The VCs who say that do not think the people they are are saying that to "aren't founders" - their business just doesn't need VC investment.