The comments on this post include a really good discussion of 'bootstrapping' versus venture capital. This of course depends on the business- I don't think any one would give me $500 let alone $50,000 to set up a jewelry company. Boot strapping is hard because you have to start on a shoe string. I do not even have a credit card so spending $1000 on ads or hiring someone for PR is out of the question. However, I also do not really owe anyone anything. If my buttons are too snarky, there is no one to tell me to tone them down, if my business fails, that's on me. I think I like that.