[epolanski]

Why does it always have to be about maximizing exits at all costs?

There's people that simply enjoy their company and working in it, they only luck to sell when they are old and there are no great heirs to the business.

And that's true for billion dollar companies too.

[tmpz22]

Bootstrap = chance of failure, more work because you can't hire a team to do significant amount of work for you

VC-funded = Full Salary early, network for future jobs if company fails, shortcuts like joining an incubator and selling to your cohort for early sales figures (which can then be used to get more money)

[billllll]

VC funding is for sure less personal risk, but I don't think the other points are universally true.

1. Re: hiring, you're probably not going to hire your first FTE right after raising money. You're probably going to do so after getting a bit of traction. I hear most investors especially today will push you to be lean and do more yourself. Either way, bootstrap or VC funding, you're going to bust ass, no way around it.

2. Re: salary, yes, some investors will encourage you to pay yourself, but you're probably not paying yourself a "full" salary right away.

3. Re: selling to cohorts is a bit overrated I think. The fact of the matter is, they're probably all early-stage tech startups, which means if you don't have a product that specifically targets early-stage tech startups, you're probably not going to sell to them.

I don't think it's as cut and dried as X is better than Y. It really is all about how much risk you want to take on, if VC funding is even an option.

[JohnFen]

> network for future jobs if company fails

This is also a thing you get when bootstrapping, if you're bootstrapping correctly.

[bb88]

On 2, I've seen this go the other way. The capital is going towards the business and not the (maybe questionable) lifestyle of the founders.

Once it's a full fledged business with a steady income stream, an above average salary would then be warranted.

[epolanski]

VC-funded: you give up equity and control

[soup10]

many businesses are boring or a grind by their nature and would not exist without financial incentive and an exit plan