I worked for a company that did certain kinds of bespoke software development / consulting projects for a particular industry. The company was able to close sa

I worked for a company that did certain kinds of bespoke software development / consulting projects for a particular industry. The company was able to close sales for development of bespoke software based on prototype software. Sales were worth well in excess of 50k. This relied on the company having other profitable activities and experience in the same industry so that it was able to fund the development of a plausible prototype in order to get a sale. Afaik the company had not taken any VC funding. Maybe this anecdote suggests a possible approach: think of a ladder of consulting services / cheaper products that will permit you to stay profitable until you build up enough plausibility to close a sale. Perhaps with enough profitability from other activities you might not need as much VC funding. (i do not have experience of the situation you describe, so my anecdote may be wildly inapplicable)