Raising money does indicate failure. Was Google failing when they raised $25M in 1998? No. They raised because in order to build out their product, they needed capital up front. Several years later, the bet paid off massively.
Companies should always be raising capital to match their expected growth trajectory. If you expect to grow by 10% a year - a lifestyle outcome - then get a bank loan because you are probably profitable. If you can grow by 100% a year then go get VC because that kind of growth would be adequate to reward the VC for the risk that naturally comes along with that rate of growth. Somewhere in the middle? Maybe revenue financing is appropriate.
Companies should always be raising capital to match their expected growth trajectory. If you expect to grow by 10% a year - a lifestyle outcome - then get a bank loan because you are probably profitable. If you can grow by 100% a year then go get VC because that kind of growth would be adequate to reward the VC for the risk that naturally comes along with that rate of growth. Somewhere in the middle? Maybe revenue financing is appropriate.
But you should always be financing your growth.