I've seen this story before - worked for a company with very disciplined management, focusing on steady predictable growth - 25% a year, not 200% a year, but do

I've seen this story before - worked for a company with very disciplined management, focusing on steady predictable growth - 25% a year, not 200% a year, but doing so profitably without VC capital. And then the venture backed competitors who didn't care about making a profit popped up... It is a vicious cycle - once a market attracts the attention of VCs, it becomes really hard not to join in.