Should Startups Focus on Profitability or Not?

The core idea of the free exchange of money is that people only spend it when the result will benefit them. If a business is focused on profits, its decisions from day one are focused and creating something other people will exchange their "profits" (their money) for.

(Paraphrasing, with [ ] comments added by me:) On day one, a bootstrapped company [inherently one looking for profits because there's no other way to stay alive] needs to make money; on day one, a funded company needs to spend money.

- Jason Fried