Here is the thing you have to understand about VCs (and therefore, companies and websites that have accepted VC money), always and forever. Repeat it like a mantra.
--- Venture capitalists do not invest in the company. Venture capitalists invest in the exit. ---
Eventually any site, app whatever has a Sell Out Moment. They get bought by a big established corp, they go IPO, something. There is an "Exit". If you accept VC money, you are *promising* that Exit day is coming and it will be *big*.
Generally the VC model does not look like you invest in a company and you expect your investment to get a bit bigger. It looks more like, you invest in ten companies and you expect nine to fail and one to make back *more than 10x* what you invested in it.
VC startups, when they're trying to build groundwork for an Exit, often do warm & fuzzy market-irrational things like build a personal relationship with happy customers. The exponential payoffs the VCs want don't look like making people happy.
mcc
Barry Schwartz 🫖