Having co-founded multiple companies and been an early or the first employee at several more, several of which have taken VC funding, this feel unnuanced. Of the VC funded companies I've been involved with I think only one would've happened at all without VC funding because they'd have been too capital intensive. For the one that we could've done without a VC, I do somewhat regret taking VC money, as we ended up pushed by investors into selling off a part of the business that could've been a nice lifestyle business, but it's not at all a given it'd have grown enough without taking investment to be worth it.
I've bootstrapped businesses too, and it's an arduous process and often far slower. If you're successful you're then lucky enough to be fully in the drivers seat, and that's great. If you're not, chances are you've wasted far more time.
Overall it boils down to what do you want? VC accelerates the the whole process, and multiplies outcomes - both risks and rewards. If you feel comfortable with taking a higher risk for a chance at either making it big fast or failing fast, then VC investment can be great. If your idea is your baby or your life's mission and it's what you want to keep doing whether or not it's a runaway success, VC might be a poor fit for you unless you happen to strike it lucky very quickly and can dictate terms - control can slip away very fast if things go in the wrong direction or too slow.
I'm far less likely to take VC money if I were to start something today largely because I've got enough money that it'd take far better terms to make it feel worth it, but I don't regret taking investment in the past other than maybe that single one I mentioned.
I've bootstrapped businesses too, and it's an arduous process and often far slower. If you're successful you're then lucky enough to be fully in the drivers seat, and that's great. If you're not, chances are you've wasted far more time.
Overall it boils down to what do you want? VC accelerates the the whole process, and multiplies outcomes - both risks and rewards. If you feel comfortable with taking a higher risk for a chance at either making it big fast or failing fast, then VC investment can be great. If your idea is your baby or your life's mission and it's what you want to keep doing whether or not it's a runaway success, VC might be a poor fit for you unless you happen to strike it lucky very quickly and can dictate terms - control can slip away very fast if things go in the wrong direction or too slow.
I'm far less likely to take VC money if I were to start something today largely because I've got enough money that it'd take far better terms to make it feel worth it, but I don't regret taking investment in the past other than maybe that single one I mentioned.