100% user-supported

Obsidian is 100% user-supported and not backed by venture capital, which its authors say lets a small team stay true to its principles without pressure to grow at all costs. They argue VC-funded startups must promise ever-larger visions, subsidize pricing to win users, and eventually exit through acquisition or an IPO, with 9 out of 10 startups expected to fail. The post contends that small teams can now build principled software used by millions, with privacy and data control built into the architecture.