Comment by brilliantcode

What I wrote is going to be super harsh but I'm being purely analytical and this is not to be taken personally:

You definitely don't sound confident at all and I feel like your problem is much deeper one where taking VC money or not isn't the issue.

It's clear from reading you would've spent the money on non-marketing as the hindsight speaks for itself.

Marketing is a small part of the equation but shouldn't be most of the funding goes. Depending on your business and industry, it will vary greatly.

I really don't see any negative impact on you. It might feel that you missed out but maybe it was never a good fit.

Of course, today, you are wiser and know exactly what to do with it, so consider it a lesson that can't be taught in schools.