I couldn't agree more. I'm glad the OP took the time to write this up, as I've been thinking something very similar recently. In fact, as recently as earlier today, I saw some comment about bootstrapping that hinted at this "bootstrapping == small" thing.

Sorry, but that's just wrong. TFA here nails it... going the bootstrap route doesn't mean you don't intend to build a billion dollar business, it just means that, if you do, you plan to do it on your schedule, not a VC's. That's it.

FWIW, we're proudly bootstrapped / self-funded at Fogbeam Labs, and anybody who knows me can tell you that I don't do small dreams. As far as I'm concerned, we're on our way to being a public company with a multi-billion dollar market cap. I can't tell you when we'll get there, but that's the goal.

Now, that said... I don't think "bootstrapped" or "not bootstrapped" is something that's intrinsic and unchangeable. We haven't taken any outside money yet, but I'm not saying we never will. We might do it tomorrow if the circumstances dictate that it's the right thing to do, relative to our goals. Or maybe next year. Maybe never. Outside money is just a tool, like a screwdriver or an Open Source library... we may need that particular tool, we may not. If we do, we'll use it. If not, we won't use it just for the sake of using it.