The truth is, there’s usually only two avenues for financing new technology:
equity
debt
VCs deal in the world of equity. They exist for the awkward “teenage” phase of development – between seed rounds and IPO. They assume a lot of risk because they (typically) hope for the possibility of 10x ROI, and they almost always have an exit strategy. Most VC-backed companies fail.
Theoretically, you could avoid the world of equity through debt financing. Thing is, debt financiers are more risk averse than VCs. For good reason too – the only thing they have to gain is their money back with some interest. If the company fails, they get nothing.
Thus, if you want to get rid of VCs, you need people who are willing to tolerate the same risk.