Ever since the the dot-com boom of the nineties, venture capital has been viewed as a prerequisite for the successful  growth of technology start-ups. But new companies should  -- and can afford to be -- leery of accepting venture funding. There's no doubt that funding is the lifeblood of business growth, but entrepreneurs shouldn't forget that capital itself is useless without innovation, and sacrificing the precepts and long-term goals of your company is never worth short term growth. Af...