If the coffee hadn’t woken up the dozens of money-seeking entrepreneurs at Wednesday morning’s Meet the Angels event — the panelists sure did.

Venture firms and angels “should be a last resort," for entrepreneurs, said Sig Mosley panelist and the Yoda of Atlanta's angel community. "It's extremely expensive and onerous. If you can avoid it, don't do it.”

Entrepreneurs, instead, were urged to financially invest in their own company as long as possible.

“Bootstrapping allows you to focus on the problem you're solving [and] your customers," Mosley said. "Raising dollars should be the last resort."