[ulfw]

Opposite for me. I wish I took VC money. I bootstrapped my startup. We failed. And part of why we failed (besides obviously being cash strapped) was the early validation that we were lacking (from a customer side, but also from an investor/VC side). One shouldn't underestimate the experience and connections those guys have.

[7Figures2Commas]

> And part of why we failed (besides obviously being cash strapped) was the early validation that we were lacking (from a customer side, but also from an investor/VC side).

If you lack customer validation, you don't have a business. Period. Beyond the seed stage, venture firms are investing to scale nascent businesses. Without customer validation, you aren't going to be able to raise a meaningful amount of capital from investors. Put simply, investor validation is a function of customer validation.

The great thing about customer validation is that you don't need lots of money to get in front of customers, and sometimes you don't even need a finished product at all. No VC is going to do this legwork for you.

[dhimes]

I don't understand this. If you turned down VC money ("I wish I took VC money") then what do you mean by "early validation that we were lacking ... from an investor/VC side?"

Do you mean that you weren't able to be taken seriously because you didn't have VC behind you? Or do you mean that you wish you had the opportunity to take VC money?

If the former, I'd like to hear more about it if you can share.