VC funding gets you paid, which is a good thing.

Not getting paid is less good.

But more and more, as a user, VC funding is a pretty good sign that either the product is shit or later will become shit.

Which is great because it means whenever I can I should go with the underdogs and SMBs.

VC funding gets you enslaved. There's no such thing as free money.

> VC funding gets you paid

So does robbing a bank. But it’s far from the only option. Plenty of indie developers thrive without any VC funding, and I thank every one of them for it. VC funding is essentially a guarantee that if the software isn’t shit now, it’ll be in the future, and that the creators care more about the money than doing something good. Case in point, the deterioration of 1Password.

Nobody is saying don't pay your developers. Just that VC funding creates perverse incentives within your business where you are pressured to do what is best for your investors, rather than your customers. But there are other business models where one can earn money and still pay the people working on the product.

And AI.

No. The optimum amount of AI in this world is zero.