First, forget about being "branded", "labeled", "be seen as", etc. These things are totally irrelevant for your business success.
Now, I would keep building on your current product, without radical pivots. But would not keep building the exact same product. A company with 10,000 paying customers and millions in financing will most certainly alienate some segment of their customers. While this might be rational for them from a cost/benefit point of view, it might be rational for you to target that exact segment they are alienating and build a successful and very profitable bootstrapped business.
If you need some help figuring out what segments they are alienating and would be a better target for you, email me (email on my profile). I have good experience in this kind of strategic analysis.
First, forget about being "branded", "labeled", "be seen as", etc. These things are totally irrelevant for your business success.
Now, I would keep building on your current product, without radical pivots. But would not keep building the exact same product. A company with 10,000 paying customers and millions in financing will most certainly alienate some segment of their customers. While this might be rational for them from a cost/benefit point of view, it might be rational for you to target that exact segment they are alienating and build a successful and very profitable bootstrapped business.
If you need some help figuring out what segments they are alienating and would be a better target for you, email me (email on my profile). I have good experience in this kind of strategic analysis.
Good luck!