I'm with you, but it really depends on the attitudes, philosophy, and ethics of the leadership.
I'm bootstrapped and ran in the red for an appreciable amount of time, and I will say that I will never do that again. Not more more than three months with my own money, at least.
Obviously some business models are made to work in this capacity. Get funding, spend big, get users/revenue at any cost, and sell.
But not me. I will never go through that amount of stress ever again, and will take no part in any such business that I'm a part of. I also don't think it's ethical to take someone else's money and do it, but hey, if that's the business plan they bought into, then that's their deal - good luck is all I can say.
In the end, I believe that reasonable, non-VC-funded success comes down to one basic thing: make more money than you spend (and if you're bootstrapping / running solo, that includes personal expenses). If that requires you to work 16+ hour days, cut expenses like mad, or do client work to make up for the gap, so be it.
I think you've hit the nail on the head: "it really depends on the attitudes, philosophy, and ethics of the leadership". Having seen what being in the red does to people, I'd prefer to start small, grow slow and steady and win the long game; yet I understand that's not everybody's philosophy or preference and that doesn't fit every type of company or product.
I'm bootstrapped and ran in the red for an appreciable amount of time, and I will say that I will never do that again. Not more more than three months with my own money, at least.
Obviously some business models are made to work in this capacity. Get funding, spend big, get users/revenue at any cost, and sell.
But not me. I will never go through that amount of stress ever again, and will take no part in any such business that I'm a part of. I also don't think it's ethical to take someone else's money and do it, but hey, if that's the business plan they bought into, then that's their deal - good luck is all I can say.
In the end, I believe that reasonable, non-VC-funded success comes down to one basic thing: make more money than you spend (and if you're bootstrapping / running solo, that includes personal expenses). If that requires you to work 16+ hour days, cut expenses like mad, or do client work to make up for the gap, so be it.
Screw the red and screw burn rate. No thank you.