self-funded businesses are nothing new.

self-funded businesses are nothing new. VC is the thing that's new. bootstrapping has been the rule as long as business has been a thing, not the exception.

and in previous eras, capital investors intended to hold the company, not sell it.

and the problems caused by the VC model began the very moment the model was invented. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_private_equity_and_venture_capital