Is Indie Craft Really Scalable?

I was found on Etsy by a buyer from Uncommon Goods a few years ago and it has brought me from in-home potter in my basement to considering seeking expansion capital and reading Entrepreneur magazine and The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. A month ago I did not know the difference between crowd-funding, angel, and venture capital. But now I have a brand, I have a goal and I need to scale or my business will stagnate and die. The only problem, which was also the best thing to happen to my business, is that I was found on Etsy. At the time Etsy was growing and hitting its stride. It was picking up people like me who were working on their craft in their garages and basements and just praying that someone would buy something. It offered all of us a viable sales platform to the world, and all (more than a million) of us jumped on the chance. But, there was a catch. With over a million vendors racking up close to $200 million in revenue for the company (in 2014), Etsy took the next logical business step and went public this past April. Great for the company, maybe, but not so great for the indie crafters who are all the sudden losing their foothold in the market to alleged knockoff products now popping up on Etsy's site. Plus, now that shareholders are the new masters, whose going to keep Etsy accountable to its founding mission? Maybe the influx of capital will help Etsy provide broader markets with even more affordable fees for its vendors. But as a seller using the Etsy platform since 2010, the option for growth of my business within the Etsy marketplace feels limited. I love the original Etsy mission and sales model and am grateful to them for allowing a mud-slinger (that's slang for potter, not derisive writer) like me the ability to actually sell anything, so I have to give them props. But it also feels like it is time to try leaving the nest. It would not surprise me to see a number of other online sales platforms start up in the near future that copy the Etsy model but make it narrower to their market, i.e. a site for only woodworking or industrial furniture or hipster grooming equipment or stoneware mugs. So, this brings me back to my original question, can indie crafters really scale? Sites like Etsy-and there are others like Etsy-offer a great starting place for people trying to sell who see the tedium of art and craft shows as impractical, and trying to get into box stores as impossible. But once that market saturates or super saturates what is the next step? How does that company that got a shot in the arm get a new facility and new equipment and hire more help and get preferred shipping and get their product to markets in the UK and EU and South America, Canada, Asia, etc.? Can a business that wants to maintain its indie flavor grow outside of the online indie craft-world marketplace or do they also need to conform to investors and giving their mission away so they can raise the money to stay profitable? I guess this is the pivot or persevere point that Eric Ries mentions in his book. How am I going to structure my mission, my business and my product(s) from here on out if I want to grow? Those products that were once unique and noticeable are now too time-consuming and costly to produce and this forces me to reevaluate my mission. Am I really an indie crafter or am I a production factory. Can I be both? I will continue to use Etsy to its fullest for my needs and I wish many others success with their products on Etsy and similar platforms. I will also continue to search for ways to expand while trying to hold onto that tag of handmade that I hold so dear. It is an exciting time to be an entrepreneur, especially for those whose focus is on small, local, handmade. Never before has a guy like me been able to make something in his basement in New York and a few days later ship it directly to a customer in Italy. I want to play with the big kids, but still dream like I'm small.