As an entrepreneur, one of the biggest decisions I have had to face when building capital is whether to raise venture capital or bootstrap. For many founders, the allure of raising VC seems obvious and offers many advantages.

I experienced this first-hand with my initial startup where I raised over $50 million in VC funding between 2012 and 2017. Prominent VCs from Silicon Valley, New York and Chicago became my equity partners and significant shareholders. This led to a "grow at all costs" mentality, where we tried various growth initiatives, developed multiple product lines and hired highly experienced executives. READ MORE