This is a tough sell to young entrepreneurs. Its hard for them to understand that buy giving away some portion now will make their equity more valuable when they are able to scale to mass market.
Until this past week or so I've been highly skeptical of VC funding and much more inclined towards bootstrapping. I love that DHH video someone else posted in this thread. I think it's silly to focus on users and vanity metrics if you don't have a clear business model (even if it's not implemented immediately).
But this essay makes an amazing case for why outside funding is helpful, even crucial. And it's encouraging that he's emphasizing revenues, not just users.
I'm also encouraged because I was at the YC event at MIT this Wednesday, and didn't hear anything (even when I asked directly) about investor drama.