It was always a strategy. More so with B2B. Would you use a payment gateway or database that has only received seed funding?
I worked at a B2B unicorn once that raised funds, not so much because they needed the money, but because it symbolized to the market that they were here to stay. That they're not going to run out of money and enshittifies when the market downturns.
No, I have the opposite reaction. A new company with funding to me just implies a runway that will run out, and no profitable business attached to it. Show me a balance sheet that is self-sustaining on their own revenue, and I'll work with them over VC-funded startups any day.
How possible is it these days to build a software business that is 'self-sustaining on their own revenue' without some decent funding up front?
Are you joking? The cost of writing code is practically free. Some basic hosting is very cheap. Find just a couple of paying customers and you are self-sustaining. Hire only when the revenue supports it, and you remain that way.