For private companies, profit is largely an accounting fiction. And re-investing every cent earned into the company while you're growing it is perfectly reasona

For private companies, profit is largely an accounting fiction. And re-investing every cent earned into the company while you're growing it is perfectly reasonable. The import metric is cashflow. Positive cashflow == sustainable. Aiming to be permanently cashflow-negative (because you're burning through VC cash) does seem a little crazy. But if your VC's handed you a huge pile of cash, then they expect you to spend it growing the business. Sitting on that pile of cash while carefully being cashflow-positive is not a good plan. Aiming for growth is also reasonable for most organisations. Aiming to shrink is clearly not a good thing, and aiming for stability is tricky and can backfire.