I think the disconnect, and then perhaps vitriol, comes from the fact that these are small, stand alone companies. Large companies take this strategy all the time with a new group or division "Don't worry about revenue yet. Build a great product, get to market, get solid adoption." Nobody argues when MSFT takes that approach with say the Xbox. It's thought of as wise investments. In this scenario the VC's are acting like the wealthy corporate mothership. It just feels counter intuitive though.
If you don't want to take money or you're not in a market that is strongly viral then obviously you have to be concerned about revenue much earlier. If you are though then focusing on revenue in the short run may be detrimental.
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I think the disconnect, and then perhaps vitriol, comes from the fact that these are small, stand alone companies. Large companies take this strategy all the time with a new group or division "Don't worry about revenue yet. Build a great product, get to market, get solid adoption." Nobody argues when MSFT takes that approach with say the Xbox. It's thought of as wise investments. In this scenario the VC's are acting like the wealthy corporate mothership. It just feels counter intuitive though.
If you don't want to take money or you're not in a market that is strongly viral then obviously you have to be concerned about revenue much earlier. If you are though then focusing on revenue in the short run may be detrimental.