Good question and one that I'd like to hear other comments on.
My take is that bootstrapped companies today focus on niche markets. When you don't have to give up 40%+ of the company away by Series D - you can afford to live a great lifestyle tackling a market with smaller TAM than VCs and VC-backed startups look for.
There's also probably something to be said for the difficulty of:
1. Running an VC-backed company through explosive growth
2. Maturing the company past explosive growth to profitability / cash flow positive
Bootstrappers pursue measured growth with a focus on cash flow + profitability from day 1 so they don't necessarily need to suffer through those same difficulties. Though they fight other battles (i.e. growing in cash constrained environments).
My take is that bootstrapped companies today focus on niche markets. When you don't have to give up 40%+ of the company away by Series D - you can afford to live a great lifestyle tackling a market with smaller TAM than VCs and VC-backed startups look for.
There's also probably something to be said for the difficulty of:
1. Running an VC-backed company through explosive growth 2. Maturing the company past explosive growth to profitability / cash flow positive
Bootstrappers pursue measured growth with a focus on cash flow + profitability from day 1 so they don't necessarily need to suffer through those same difficulties. Though they fight other battles (i.e. growing in cash constrained environments).