Small for-profit companies also can’t just “keep putting in time and money for hypothetical return at some undetermined threshold, or take out loans or get VC money to sink into big upfront acquisition costs”, so I don’t think it’s a fair argument (in fact, it might be case that it’s easier for a small EA org to get funded than it is to the vast majority of for-profit businesses out there).
Small for-profit companies also can’t just “keep putting in time and money for hypothetical return at some undetermined threshold, or take out loans or get VC money to sink into big upfront acquisition costs”, so I don’t think it’s a fair argument (in fact, it might be case that it’s easier for a small EA org to get funded than it is to the vast majority of for-profit businesses out there).