Honestly being bad at fundraising was a blessing. I sucked at it...still remember over 10 years ago going to SF with a group of Toronto startups, pitching big name VCs in the valley and going absolutely nowhere. maybe the idea was bad, who knows. but it made me realize three things: 1) i don't actually need permission to build stuff 2) building the business is way more fun than building pitch decks 3) there's something liberating about building within your means... forces you to focus on what actually matters irony is after i sold my last company and started Boom, VCs and angel friends started reaching out asking to invest. classic case of when you need it, you can't get it. when you don't need it, everyone wants to give it to you.