This is a really good article. There's no exact path, though startup media likes to make you think there is. Raise tons of money? Raise no money? Ad supported? SaaS? Is this trend over? None of it really matters. Go for what you will commit yourself to, put a plan to it, and make sure that you're happy with what it can produce. That's the biggest issue. Many founders will start lifestyle businesses, want to turn them into VC backed ones, and start to mutate what they're working on. During that mutation things go very awry. Know who you are and embrace it.