Is VC funding losing its appeal for founders in the era of AI?

A few years ago, getting a VC check was the ultimate shortcut. The fastest way to scale. The signal that you'd "made it." But with AI is a little bit different.

Global VC funding declined 30% in Q1 2024. One of the lowest quarters since 2018. And bootstrapped startups are quietly catching up. Recent data shows bootstrapped businesses are growing as fast as VC-backed startups, while spending only about one-quarter as much on customer acquisition.

Meanwhile, AI is changing the math entirely. The resources a founding team needs to build, ship, and scale have dropped dramatically. You don't need a $5M seed round to build an MVP anymore.

And the examples speak for themselves:

• Mailchimp: bootstrapped for 20 years, sold for $12B

• Midjourney: $500M revenue, $0 raised

• Zoho: 150M+ users, never took a dollar of VC

VCs still bring value beyond money: network, credibility, access. That's real. But is it worth the dilution and pressure that comes with it?

So I'm curious:

• Are you actively trying to raise, or have you decided to bootstrap as long as possible?

• What would actually make you take VC money today?

• And if you've done both: which path would you choose again?