This is slightly offtopic but i really like the funding road theyve taken, after going through a Startup Accelerator and ultimately failing with the original product after 2 years (a game) myself.<p>If i was to try again sometime in the future, id certainly do it like this.<p>1. Build a good prototype and evaluate if the product works and if there is demand on a really small scale<p>2. Try to raise money through crowdfounding.<p>3. If it works, you have proven to everybody (including yourself and potential later investors) that there indeed is a market for your product(s). You dont have to step in front of investors and try to sell an unproven idea. Try to make a hit product and get VCs on board after this stage (if you need to)<p>4. If it doesnt you can quit or try it out on your own in bootstrapped fashion.<p>Never ever again would i take outside money for equity in a very early stage, but this is just my personal view and the lesson i learned in the last years.<p>This approach can work great for games/products, it wont really for your next social web startup/app project mind you. In that case i would go the bootstrapped route directly and try to prove my product before going for the stars.