Let me rephrase this pithy remark in econ terms: a company by definition builds value, hopefully a lot. You as the founder at some point has to extract the value one way or the other (immediately by exiting, over a longer period by divesting/retiring/passing it on) or lose it (shut it down or watch the company wither). There are no other exits. You cannot take the money with you. So the question to the OP is, how much value does she want to build, how quickly, and whether she wants to extract all of it and when?

If the answers are "a lot, quickly, yes, soon enough" a VC-backed model is probably the best answer. But you need to know the answers to the bootstrapped option as well.

I’m not sure this answer is as true as you imagine. You extract money via a sale to then invest it and create a revenue stream. Which you potentially already have in the original business. It’s just it was invested in your business v someone else’s.

The question of whether to sell it is a function of how much money you need in a lump sum, how precarious or stable your business is and how much cash it’s throwing off. And of course of diversification.

It’s not defacto true that you need to sell it to realise its value though