I've had a similar epiphany over the last five years or so. Once you take money from the VCs, you are essentially just an R&D department of the VC collective with perhaps a bit more autonomy than you might have in a BigCo but you are still heavily constrained by the demands of your funders. This is nothing like the romantic two guys in a garage with a great idea taking on the world narrative that we've been fed for decades.
I've had a similar epiphany over the last five years or so. Once you take money from the VCs, you are essentially just an R&D department of the VC collective with perhaps a bit more autonomy than you might have in a BigCo but you are still heavily constrained by the demands of your funders. This is nothing like the romantic two guys in a garage with a great idea taking on the world narrative that we've been fed for decades.