My limited experience says this is right on. One of my best friends has been working on a startup for about two years now, focused on a B2B vertical where he h

My limited experience says this is right on. One of my best friends has been working on a startup for about two years now, focused on a B2B vertical where he has experience. It's gone well, and he's gained a handful of customers who are all very loyal to his product. He's turned down outside investment the whole time, because he didn't have a growth strategy that required capital. He saw investment as a liability, taking a portion of his flexibility and tying him to a strategy he hadn't yet tested. Now, he's looking for funding to grow quickly, and to hire some marketing folk. Ironically, while he had people asking to invest a few months ago, now he's having trouble finding the right fit. He's heard "you're just a little bigger than the companies we normally deal with" from every corner. I know he's not alone in this. I hope the startup world quickly adapts to this change, and develops a facility to deal with tiny bootstrapped companies that are past the "I have an idea!" stage, but need outside expertise and a workable plan to scale.