Money is always a consequence, not the root cause. You work – you get paid. You sell – customer pays. You roll the dice and get lucky – you get rich. You have a business (plan) that works – you get funding.
But getting funding is not the end goal, not even for a startup. The end goal is to be able to pay all that funding back, and some more. To reach that you need to have a business that works. For getting there, you need the right strategy. The strategy should be all about your business: who is your customer, what is your offering, how you plan to win etc.
The journey from where you are today to where you need to be one day is typically so long that you may need to top up some fuel on the way. Funding is your fuel, helping you to get where you need to go. But it’s just a means to an end, not the reason your startup exists and definitely not your Northern Star. It should not be the driver for your thinking and activities, do not let “what do I need to do to get funded” to mislead you.