In a lot of cases, rapid growth is incompatible with NEAR-TERM profit (but not necessarily revenue). It's hard to concentrate on both. A company can generally

In a lot of cases, rapid growth is incompatible with NEAR-TERM profit (but not necessarily revenue). It's hard to concentrate on both. A company can generally grow faster if it takes on investors and plows any revenue back into growth... I think most investors (YC included) are most interested in meteoric growth (or whatever path is going to lead most swiftly and reliably to a BIG liquidity event of some kind). Going for a lifestyle business and eschewing investment rarely gets you there quickly (if at all). I love Wufoo (and I'd certainly put them on the relatively short list of YC companies that I truly envy), but I think they are leaving some growth "on the table". I think 37s is, too. Not that there's anything wrong with that-- it's just not necessarily "investor-friendly".