Sage advice that applies not only to entrepreneurs seeking VC funding but the other 499,000 out of 500,000 entrepreneurs who will never be aligned with a VC.

Your very first point “Can you do it without venture money? If so, ….why raise money?” is so important because many, many entrepreneurs whom I mentor have never even seriously thought of that option, and tried to work out a plan with that objective.

The farther an entrepreneur can take their idea from that stage to a MVP with some market traction, not only will they get better valuation but , even more importantly, a better quality investor. Otherwise,unfortunately, they are susceptible to many predators and loan-to-own shops. See the post in that regard https://medium.com/@rajivtandon/entrepreneurs-are-you-marrying-a-partner-or-a-rapist-55ad38d5a50