> is it impossible to get VC levels of investment without giving away board seats?
Microsoft, interestingly, was after the opposite. They took a rather nominal $1M VC funding to get someone knowledgeable on their board. Probably helped when it came time to IPO. They definitely didn't need the funding. VCs would love for the world to believe that their funding is necessary. But often that sort of rocket fuel is detrimental to the growth of a company. It puts immense sudden pressure on a company, relationships are strained, and really weird things start to happen as your headcount shoots past 20-30 people.
Microsoft, interestingly, was after the opposite. They took a rather nominal $1M VC funding to get someone knowledgeable on their board. Probably helped when it came time to IPO. They definitely didn't need the funding. VCs would love for the world to believe that their funding is necessary. But often that sort of rocket fuel is detrimental to the growth of a company. It puts immense sudden pressure on a company, relationships are strained, and really weird things start to happen as your headcount shoots past 20-30 people.