The challenge with a VC investment is that it comes with a 5-7 year shot clock, after which they need to liquidate their investment: they don't want to return a

The challenge with a VC investment is that it comes with a 5-7 year shot clock, after which they need to liquidate their investment: they don't want to return a minority holding in private firm to their limited partners. Bootstrapping or Angel investment allows you to be more patient about success. Also, the competitive landscape for a $1M revenue firm is very different than one earning $100M, it's much much harder. Very few larger firms care about a $1M market, or even a $10M market, especially if they view it as an unprofitable segment from their current revenue. But they will find a $100M market much harder to ignore.