I think you're right that many of the companies listed are lifestyle businesses. For example, SquareSpace and Harvest are not interested, and never will be interested, in taking money. However, it's best to weigh every option you're presented with. I'll leave it at that. ;)

That's a great point Spencer. However, I think companies that want to scale faster will need to take investment. Why wait a year to get enough cash in the bank to hire more people when you can do it now? Opportunity costs are tremendous.

It can take a few years (or more) to figure out what your ultimate end goal is. The first few years could simply be about acquiring customers in your market. You can then use those newly acquired customers to explore different business opportunities. Those new business opportunities could require new capital.