Yes, but not all companies can raise $50mm on credit. Digital Ocean is already well-established. If you're a start-up, people aren't generally interested in investing X dollars at a small percentage return.
Yes, exactly. But getting a loan or a line of credit in the multi-million dollar range implies a certain level of trust in the viability of your company which typically is lacking in most early stage startups. The risk associated with venture capital transforms that relationship into not merely a financial transaction but more of a partnership, which is why equity is typically given.
@edwinyzh as I understand it, basically you deduct the debt from the profit and pay taxes only for the remaining amount. Wikipedia has a very short article on this [1].
Debt itself (as a liability) is definitely not deducted from profit, but repayment of debt is deducted from the profit, and - what is more important - interest on debt is deducted from the tax base as a result. Which means that if you can load up on debt to get higher return, than you would get investing your own money.
