Bootstrapping a Startup is a State of Mind

I don't think it's so much about bootstrapping vs. funded as just being frugal.

Not all bootstrapped companies are low on money, some had plenty of their own to put in, or others have achieved profitability.

This is a way of running a company for sure, but I think it would be better put as "Frugal is a state of mind".

"In a way, it wasn’t really a sense of accomplishment for us; the funding simply signified the beginning of additional hard work to be done and the responsibility we owed to our investors."

I like to think this is the attitude I'd have if I ever got funded. I see the same thing play out with grant funding in education. Sometimes big grants are seen as piles of cash; the educators I respect most always see big grants as the beginning of some hard but hopefully meaningful work.

Why would you accept a tranched Series A? It's not really 1998 anymore.

Sorry, no-one with a 12MM Series A is bootstrapping.