(really) entrepreneureal

Startup funding, in many respects, buys you freedom.  The freedom to work away unfettered by daily concerns like paying the bills and keeping the lights on.  The freedom to hire the very best and keep them.  The freedom to focus 100% of your attention and energy on one thing and one thing only: making your business work.

That said, funding also imposes restraints.  Accountability to investors means no more slow going, opportunistic growth.  There might be a little less fun to be had, too, since your major decision filter is now “will this help the business (make money)?” And if you want to work with people who are as passionate as you are, a good salary has a way of making it difficult to tell the committed apart from the ladder climbers.

So what to do – would you take the money?