college is a means to an end. so are the graduate degrees. incubators, accelerators, fellowship programs are a means to an end. so is any type of substancial funding (sbir/sttr non-dilutive, dilutive vcs, etc. etc.) are all a means to an end. liquid capital is a means to an end. so is equity. connections are a means to an end. data infra, core tech (software/hardware whatever) patented or not is also a means to an end.
none of them are the end goal.
the end goal are the LOIs. and LOI is all that matters. it's the only unit of traction that's worth something.
revenue? that's just a byproduct.