I don't understand this. If you turned down VC money ("I wish I took VC money") then what do you mean by "early validation that we were lacking ... from an inv

I don't understand this. If you turned down VC money ("I wish I took VC money") then what do you mean by "early validation that we were lacking ... from an investor/VC side?" Do you mean that you weren't able to be taken seriously because you didn't have VC behind you? Or do you mean that you wish you had the opportunity to take VC money? If the former, I'd like to hear more about it if you can share.