I don't think taking the time to talk to investors as a hedge is necessary or adds much to business strategy. If you want to build a bootstrapped business and m

I don't think taking the time to talk to investors as a hedge is necessary or adds much to business strategy. If you want to build a bootstrapped business and may be open to VC at some unknown point in the future VCs will likely only care about business metrics. If they speak for themselves than most VCs will gladly meet, and it will likely be relatively 'easy' to fundraise. If you aren't looking for early stage capital, don't waste your time talking to investors when you could be building a business... Now, talking to potential acquirers at any point in the lifecycle of the business is a great use of time, in my opinion. If you are open to the idea of eventually selling your company get close to the companies that might be interested in buying your company and stay close. Partnerships, shared customers, deep understanding of their technology and so forth