That essay is incredibly self serving. I think it should be taken with a pinch of salt. At very least any counter point to it shouldn't be immediately shut down with a link back to the essay. It's text book circular logic.
Lifestyle businesses, or companies not looking to grow very fast don't need VC money, so I really don't understand everyone's obsession with making "VC sustainable".
If you want to start a business and require initial capital then take out a bank loan. It's relatively simple. But...that's not a startup, again, by most accounts. If you want to use some random definition found on the internet go for it, but that's not status quo.
Some people.