I was thinking of it purely in terms of decision-making -- if you are only bootstrapping, you are free to serve your customers to the best of your ability, and

I was thinking of it purely in terms of decision-making -- if you are only bootstrapping, you are free to serve your customers to the best of your ability, and shape your business how you choose. I have seen many friends forced to compromise because their VC demanded it. (And not the everybody-learns-and-grows type of compromise.) But you really pounded the financial nail into the coffin there :)