What your mental plan is doesn't matter though, as long as you actually made a reasonable effort towards what the VCs expect. Or does anyone actually tell them "invest in me because I'll overtake Nvidia or die trying"?

I guess the person taking the VC deal isn't actually against getting filthy rich if they have a chance. If you say "I think this can get big", burn cash and work hard for a while, then recognize the moment where it's not sustainable anymore and scale down, then you did what was expected.