Choices

I hear this all the time.

I talk to waaaaay too many founders who say 'oh yeah, we'll raise if we need to' as if it's something that just happens and doesn't require an inhuman level of effort. Decide the path you want to go on and go on it. Optionality doesn't exist anymore when you start a business. You either go all in or you don't.

"Oh yeah, we'll raise if we need to." Like fundraising is some switch you flip when cash gets tight. Like investors are just sitting around waiting for your call.

"We're keeping our options open." Bootstrap or raise. B2B or B2C. Go big or stay small. As if you can decide later when you have more information.

And yet. Here's what I've learned watching founders for years.

Optionality doesn't exist anymore when you start a business.

Every path requires an inhuman level of effort. Fundraising isn't something that just happens. It's a months-long process that will consume your life. Bootstrap isn't the easy route either. It means saying no to growth opportunities because you can't afford them.

Ask any founder who's successfully raised. They'll tell you about the 127 investor meetings. The pitch deck version 43. The emotional roller coaster of almost-yeses that turned into nos.

Ask any founder who's successfully bootstrapped. They'll tell you about the sleepless nights wondering if they can make payroll. The features they couldn't build. The markets they couldn't enter.

Both paths work. But neither path tolerates half-measures.

The founders who make it? They pick a lane and go all in. They commit to the trade-offs. They stop pretending they can have it both ways.

Here's to those brave enough to make the hard choice early. Smart enough to know that indecision is just another way of choosing failure.

Pick your path!

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