Like personal owner debt? I.e. mortage up the house for 300k and fuel some growth?

Let's compare VC to Debt for owner capital

Funded via VC:

* Startup Wins Big: You get 30-70% of big money

* Startup Fails: Walk away with a fresh slate

Funded via personal Debt:

* Startup Wins Big: Get 100% of the big money

* Startup Fails: Declare personal bankruptcy, perhaps lose house, perhaps unable to buy a home for 5 or so years, lose any physical assets

I am a big fan of don't get VC if you don't need VC. But for many many normal founders without a huge pile of cash in a trust fund or from a previous exist, the VC debt looks a whole lot nicer than the person debt story.