[andrewdubinsky]

Some part of the equation depends on the size and structure of the market.

If you can scale to a large business with little competition, say $100m+ in revenue per year, it's strongly worth considering. You might be able to exit with generational wealth. However, if the market is very competitive and/or mature, it's much harder to reach that scale. If it's not capital intensive, has few potential entrants, and is growing organically, you might be able to grow without investment and be fine.

The question to ask yourself is what's your long term objective (10+ years) and is meeting that objective worth the risk?

ps. I'd add that failure for a VC is not like failure to me and you. If you are the 3rd place in a market and exit for tens of millions (to you) that might still be a poor return for the investor, but life changing for you.