Of course it goes without saying that the specific number is very location dependent - so 500k in the valley won't take you very far, but elsewhere it can last you for years.
That being said, it seems a good target to shoot for is to always have at least 12 months of burn in the bank. If you've got much less than that, you're in very dangerous territory since you don't have enough time to pivot in case your current course doesn't work out.
As much as it's a very good (and empirically accurate) argument that too much money leads to bloat, I think raising less money is not the optimal solution. A better approach might just be discipline - take the money if it's available, and keep spending in check.
