In today's down environment, cash is king and any startup that has short-term capital intensive needs, and no way to meet them apart from VC funding, is going to get lousy terms - the first of which is a much lower valuation relative to what it would have been a couple of years ago. That means major dilution at best, <i>assuming</i> such a startup can get funding at all.<p>Even so, bootstrap startups are proliferating in Silicon Valley (and I assume elsewhere) and will be in line to approach VCs down the road if they deem it desirable, but on much better terms and with much higher valuations. For founders in today's environment, patience, perseverance, and frugality are the key. Opportunities abound but VCs are no longer the sole or even primary entry point toward realizing them.