"Getting acquired and becoming a cost center for another organization is not how I'd define success."
I'd not consider that failure, either; Many things are valuable, yet often defined as "Cost centers". IT Support, for example, is almost always defined as a cost-center, yet it fuels so many parts of the business and can be such an improvement to getting things done it's insane in the modern world not to have it.
Building a technology or product that is only good as an add-on, loss leader, or tech demo isn't shameful. If somebody's willing to pay for it, if you and your investors can get a good return, that's a reasonable measure of success. It's nice when a product is successful on it's own, but not everything is about direct-sales.
I'd not consider that failure, either; Many things are valuable, yet often defined as "Cost centers". IT Support, for example, is almost always defined as a cost-center, yet it fuels so many parts of the business and can be such an improvement to getting things done it's insane in the modern world not to have it.
Building a technology or product that is only good as an add-on, loss leader, or tech demo isn't shameful. If somebody's willing to pay for it, if you and your investors can get a good return, that's a reasonable measure of success. It's nice when a product is successful on it's own, but not everything is about direct-sales.