Launching a startup without outside funding is harder than it looks—I've bootstrapped two small businesses, and both times the lack of capital slowed growth to a crawl. Yet friends who took VC money ended up answering to investors instead of customers, which killed their original vision. I'm not convinced that external funding is the only path or even the best one, but I see why so many founders chase it. Should aspiring entrepreneurs prioritize self-funding over venture capital, or is that a recipe for staying small forever?