I think this is absolutely awesome! Congratulations to all the startups who are pulling this off! I do however think that when startups have proven themselves,

I think this is absolutely awesome! Congratulations to all the startups who are pulling this off! I do however think that when startups have proven themselves, and have a steady cash flow, but want to race to the top, VC funding may be the way to go. I personally experienced this with a startup with a very healthy balance sheet. The reason for VC funding was pretty straightforward "We need money to expand internationally". Local market dominance is usually quite possible with bootstrapping however international expansion poses a totally different challenge (first challenge: hire an experienced management team for it..). VC funding plays a big role when it comes to the big guns. If you want to be the next Mc Donalds or the next Hyatt, it may be important. Local market dominance is also great while being bootstrapped, if you want to play acquire-me, but that could just as easily be stomp all over me. I guess that's what makes this business so exciting ;)