It's a bit of a non sequitur: having a profitable business is ideal but if a startup can grow fast with VC money it can be acquired for 40x (Wiz) - 1000x (WhatsApp) revenue even if not profitable
There's people that simply enjoy their company and working in it, they only luck to sell when they are old and there are no great heirs to the business.
And that's true for billion dollar companies too.
VC-funded = Full Salary early, network for future jobs if company fails, shortcuts like joining an incubator and selling to your cohort for early sales figures (which can then be used to get more money)
1. Re: hiring, you're probably not going to hire your first FTE right after raising money. You're probably going to do so after getting a bit of traction. I hear most investors especially today will push you to be lean and do more yourself. Either way, bootstrap or VC funding, you're going to bust ass, no way around it.
2. Re: salary, yes, some investors will encourage you to pay yourself, but you're probably not paying yourself a "full" salary right away.
3. Re: selling to cohorts is a bit overrated I think. The fact of the matter is, they're probably all early-stage tech startups, which means if you don't have a product that specifically targets early-stage tech startups, you're probably not going to sell to them.
I don't think it's as cut and dried as X is better than Y. It really is all about how much risk you want to take on, if VC funding is even an option.
This is also a thing you get when bootstrapping, if you're bootstrapping correctly.
Once it's a full fledged business with a steady income stream, an above average salary would then be warranted.
Being profitable means you’re not beholden to new investors. If your goal is to run a company rather than race for an exit, this lets you make much longer term strategic decisions.
How does that help me as a potential user?