Interesting - can you provide sources for b, c, d? In particular, isn't b) and c) contradictory? Just want to read more on this - not trying to be adversarial.
BrainTree has been bootstrapped since it's beginning until October, 2012 when they raised $35 million. And the guys at 37 Signals sure love BrainTree since, that is what they use to process payments for 37 Signals. Also, BrainTree was featured in their famous 'Bootstrapped, Profitable and Proud' series http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2800-bootstrapped-profitable-...
Although I don't know the specifics for Braintree, it's not contradictory to accept VC money for bootstrapped companies. If a startup goes from 0 to 10M revenue without taking any outside investment then that puts them squarely in the bootstrapped camp. However, if they then realize they're in a winner-takes-all market and that they need a lot of money in order to scale up, then they can still accept VC money at that later stage.
