VC funding is silently killing startups.
Not because venture capital is toxic.
Not because founders can't close rounds.
But because raising money has replaced solving real problems as the North Star.
TechCrunch headlines hype us up daily:
↳ "Startup secures $2M to revolutionize paper clips"
↳ "$5M seed raised to build Netflix for hamsters"
Suddenly founders aren't chasing product-market fit.
They're chasing term sheets, investor validations, and vanity headlines.
Here's exactly what happens next:
1/ Startups pitch investors more than they talk to users.
2/ Teams design slides rather than solve critical pain points.
3/ Companies spend against money they haven't truly earned—burning runway and trust simultaneously.
But here's the raw truth no one admits:
↳ Millions raised ≠ product validation.
↳ Buzz doesn't pay salaries.
↳ Most VC-backed startups still implode spectacularly.
↳ Secretly, overfunded founders envy ruthless, profitable bootstrappers.
I know exactly WTF I’m saying — because I have "been there, done that":
↳ Got into YC.
↳ Raised a $6M seed.
↳ Lived that TechCrunch dopamine hit.
But guess what?
Raising doesn’t protect your startup from implosion.
It speeds it up.
Today, with BuddiesHR, I’m clean as ever:
↳ Bootstrapped.
↳ Profitable at $30K MRR.
↳ Lean. Free. Focused.
No toxic cap tables.
No investor breathing down my neck.
No more chasing vanity metrics like a trained monkey.
Founders:
Solve real f*cking problems.
Stack real revenue.
Own every inch of your company.
Because raising money isn't the real game.
Survival, profitability, and freedom are.
Stay lean. Stay focus. Stay bootstrapped.
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