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Fundraising: Given a successfully bootstrapped business showing strong profitability & success, what advantages & pitfalls do you see in raising a round?
CH
CH
Clay Hebert, I help people and brands tell their best story. answered:

Advantages:
1. speed to grow faster than your competitors and gain a dominant position and marketshare (assuming you'll be able to translate funding into growth of your team and your customers).
2. In certain businesses, the right investors can make introductions that help accelerate your growth.

Pitfalls:

1. depending on how much you raise, from whom, terms, etc., you'll give up some equity and some level of control (likely a board seat).

2. if you raise VC, you just essentially sold your company. Most VC's are not interested in entrepreneurs who want to successfully but slowly grow a profitable, bootstrapped company. They want (and need - see: portfolio theory) a 25X, 50X or 100X+ return. They don't want to see you make $1M profit on $5M in revenue. If that's interesting to you, stay bootstrapped and profitable.

VC funding is rocket fuel that will either send you to the moon or send you crashing in the ocean. If you want to continue along a profitable, fun, road-trip that you're in control of, I wouldn't raise a round.

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