Ramen profitable means a startup makes just enough to pay the founders' living expenses. This is a different form of profitability than startups have traditionally aimed for. Traditional profitability means a big bet is finally paying off, whereas the main importance of ramen profitability is that it buys you time. A startup that reaches ramen profitability may be more likely to succeed than not.

Rule 0 - these rules exist for a reason.
R1- Don't raise money unless you want it and it wants you.
R2 - Be in fundraising mode or not.
R3 - Get introductions to investors.
R4 - Hear no till you hear yes.
R5 - Do breadth-first search weighted by expected value.
R6 - Know where you stand.
R7 - Get the first commitment.
R8 - Close committed money.
R9 - Avoid investors who don't "lead."
R10 - Have multiple plans.
R11 - Underestimate how much you want.
R12 - Be profitable if you can. Try to reach Ramen profitability before Demo Day.
R13 - Don't optimize for valuation.
R14 - Yes/no before valuation. If your valuation has already been set by a prior investment at a specific valuation or cap, you can tell them that number.
R15 - compulsive negotiators who will suck up a lot of your time trying to push your price down. You should therefore never approach such investors first. While you shouldn't chase high valuations, you also don't want your valuation to be set artificially low because the first investor who committed happened to be a compulsive negotiator
R16 - Accept offers greedily.
R17 - Don't get addicted to fundraising.