Other than equity, there are a number of choices there. One is working conditions: you have a lot more freedom to grant people unusual working conditions if you

Other than equity, there are a number of choices there. One is working conditions: you have a lot more freedom to grant people unusual working conditions if you answer to nobody. Another is compensation. Not only could you grant more equity, you can also use contractors or part-timers more freely, or otherwise mess around in ways that VCs tend to frown on. VCs are very optimized for "go big or go home." It's nice to not have that pressure early on, for the founders and the other employees. It's interesting how different the feel is at different companies -- VC-backed vs private-equity-backed vs public. Bootstrapped is potentially a different feel, and a better match for some people. Does it work out that way in practice? No clue. Never worked for one of these, though I've worked for VC-backed, private-backed and public.