There was a time, not too long ago, when being an entrepreneur meant being gritty, scrappy, and ridiculously resourceful. You had an idea. You tested it. You sold it. You built slowly. You hustled. Then maybe, just maybe, funding came along to enable you to scale.
But today? It seems like the moment someone has a half-baked idea scribbled on a napkin, their next sentence is, “We’re looking to raise funds.”
Excuse me? That’s not how it works.
Table of Contents
When did funding become the default startup strategy?
Having been involved in the startup ecosystem for over 17 years, including being a part of numerous startup pitch panels year or year, I’ve witnessed an alarming evolution (or rather, devolution) in founder mindsets.
What used to be a journey of discovery, validation, and creation has now become a race to the nearest investor’s inbox. Founders today often treat fundraising not as a tool, but as the destination. And let’s call it what it is, a crutch, not a catalyst.
This attitude shift isn’t just disappointing, it’s dangerous.
The harsh truth no one likes to hear
Let’s get this out of the way: unless your startup is an outlier, backed by cutting-edge research, protected IP, or is truly revolutionizing the world with unprecedented impact, funding your startup before proving anything is a long shot.
And that’s a kind way of saying: it’s practically a lottery.
The majority, let’s say 99% of startup ideas, simply do not qualify for funding at the idea or even MVP stage. Yes, you read that right. MVP is not a ticket to a term sheet.
Too many entrepreneurs have bought into the media hype where “$10M Raised in Seed Round” headlines get all the love. TV shows and social media content celebrating fundraises (not milestones or revenue) have created a dangerous illusion: that funding equals success.
No. Funding is not success. Funding is fuel, not the vehicle.
The investor’s perspective: Let’s be real
If you haven’t built anything. If you haven’t validated your assumptions. If you don’t understand your customer or your market. If your unit economics are imaginary. If your product is still a prototype… an unproven hypothesis.
Why should anyone invest?
The early stage is the riskiest phase of a startup’s journey. At this point, the risk is astronomical, and let’s be honest your skin in the game is minimal.
Asking for funding without taking risks yourself is like asking a stranger to pay your gym membership while you eat chips on the couch. Why would they? Where’s your hustle? Where’s your grind?
And when these founders get rejected, many take to social media to villainize investors: “They don’t support early-stage innovation,” or worse, “They don’t get the vision.”
Let’s be brutally honest: they’re not supposed to get your vision until you’ve turned it into something tangible.
There are no billion dollar ideas, ideas are dime a dozen, its the execution counts and you have to show proof of execution.
So, what makes a startup fundable?
Before you start building your pitch deck, ask yourself these:
- Have I validated the business hypothesis?
- Is my MVP more than just a fancy landing page?
- Do I have paying or pilot customers?
- Do I understand my unit economics?
- Have I even sold anything?
- Have I got traction?
If you answered “No” to most of these, guess what? You don’t have a startup. You have a concept.
And investors don’t fund concepts. They fund businesses. Funding comes after proof of work. After the grind. After traction. Not before.
Funding is optional, Not inevitable.
The obsession with fundraising has led us to forget that some of the best companies in the world didn’t start with a fat cheque from a VC. They started in garages, dorm rooms, or shared workspaces. With duct-taped prototypes. With founders who wore every hat and learned every function.
Even today, thousands of successful businesses never raise a dime and still generate millions in revenue. It’s called bootstrapping, and yes, it’s not glamorous, but it works.
Here’s a wild idea: build a business that makes money. You might be shocked to find that revenue is the best kind of funding. And who knows may be while actually executing your business you may realize that your startup may not require funding at all. And even if it does, typical equity based funding may not be the optimal path for you. There are so many other ways to fund a business.
Skin in the game, or just playing the game?
Entrepreneurship is about solving problems, not chasing vanity metrics. If you’re serious, you’ll figure out how to test, iterate, and launch with limited resources. You’ll be creative. Frugal. Focused.
I always make a point to ask entrepreneurs while pitching “What if you dont get funded?” And if you find yourself saying, “If we don’t get funding, we can’t proceed,” then I have news for you: You’re not ready to be an entrepreneur.
Real entrepreneurs work things out. They find a way. They barter, borrow, sell, build, partner, trade, grind, and make it happen. Not because it’s easy. But because they believe in the problem they’re solving.
You dont need raise funds by pitching to investors before you test your hypothesis. You have incunation centers, government grants, venture studios like Array Ventures who can help you build your MVP, validate your idea, establish proof of concept and establish your hypothesis.
It’s time to wake up
The glorification of funding has created a dangerous herd mentality, startups chasing money, not mission. Validation has been replaced by virality. Real growth replaced by growth hacks. Here’s the reality check:
- Startups and funding are not synonymous.
- Funding is not your shortcut. It’s not your safety net.
- Funding is not an indicator of success, it is just an indictor of validation from investors.
- And if it is, then maybe you’re not building a business. You’re building a house of cards.
So, to every aspiring founder out there:
- Put in the work.
- Validate before you pitch.
- Sell before you scale.
- Build before you beg.
- And always, always ask yourself: What if I never get funded?
If your startup still thrives in that scenario, you’re on the right path. And if not? Well… maybe you were just chasing a trend, not building a legacy.
