ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 7, 2010

Sub-$2 million pre-money, it is better to bootstrap. Our discussion today was largely around her financing strategy, and one of the key milestones that I probed her on was: What does it take to get a validated customer? Well, it turns out that with about $900,000 and 12 months, Siobhan can get to paying customers. Trendy Loot.

Valuation 119

Valuation Silicon Valley Pre-Money Valuation Bootstrapping 119

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

Next, Umakant Soni discussed Vimagino.com , a software for Web-based Q&A support to engage customers better on sites that are trying to draw people in and convert them into customers. I started doing my free Online Strategy Roundtables for entrepreneurs in the fall of 2008.

India 114

India Silicon Valley Incubator Bootstrapping 114

ReadWriteStart

NOVEMBER 3, 2011

Having turned down all overtures for investment, Zoho continues merrily on in its bootstrapping path. Parallel6 is already clocking over $1 million in revenue and is looking to enhance its customer acquisition and also raise some financing. From 2008 to 2010, Mitra was a columnist for Forbes.

North Carolina 116

North Carolina San Diego Entrepreneur Balance Sheet 116

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 10, 2010

This company provides a crowdsourced customer service solution to enterprises. Gio pitched it to me as a crowdsourced BPO, but I think he will have more success if he simply focuses on customer service as his core value proposition. They already have several customers including some telcos, and are at about $350,000 in revenues.

Cloud 115

Cloud Silicon Valley Incubator Finance 115

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 21, 2010

At today's roundtable, we had some very interesting discussions on creative bootstrapping. Justin is looking for a more efficient customer acquisition model, and my suggestion to him was to look into using distributors, instead of trying to do all the development and then also all the distribution himself.

Bootstrapping 113

Bootstrapping IP India Silicon Valley 113

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 17, 2011

He needs to bootstrap it to a certain level, and following the 1M/1M methodology would be a good start. Marcial proposes to use friends living in the United States to transport products on behalf of consumers in Costa Rica who are regular customers of products from the US e-commerce vendors. and each book costs $375 retail.

Costa Rica 114

Costa Rica America Silicon Valley Entrepreneur 114

Austin Startup

AUGUST 2, 2018

Workshops included topics of price-setting, customer acquisition and legal considerations when starting a business. It was started in 2008 at UT Austin, with a mission to spur entrepreneurship in students through an experiental, 3-day program where they effectively jumpstart the startup process.

Austin 57

Austin Software Review Technical Review Entrepreneur 57

VC Cafe

MAY 5, 2011

According to the Analyzd website, the company operates as a custom-made consulting practice in the field of online payments, fraud detection, risk management and business intelligence, using the constant stream of data received by the site. Analyzd is less than one year old and completely self-funded by the Samet brothers, Ohad and Yuval.

Bootstrapping 94

Bootstrapping Algorithm Europe Mobile 94

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

OCTOBER 23, 2012

After I sold Smart Bear, that division has increased revenue and profit every year, for five years, even through the 2008/2009 economic disaster. Note that some of those companies were bootstrapped, some bootstrapped and took money later, and some had huge funding from the start. But really, are all those acquirers so stupid?

IPO 240

IPO Flash Bootstrapping Private Equity 240

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 5, 2013

She partnered with Rett Clevenger who at that time was an online media manager for a large e-commerce site, to launch Steals.com in April 2008. Being a completely bootstrapped company, Steals.com cannot offer its team the best possible pay. Most of the customer service staff is able to work from home for 30 hours a week.

Silicon Valley 266

Silicon Valley Utah India Massachusetts 266

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

MARCH 20, 2012

Erica Douglass bootstrapped her company and sold it for a million dollars while her friends were switching majors for the third time or dicking around at some entry-level job. circa 2008.) And there isn’t a well-organized panalopy of world-wide WordCamps so it’s hard to reach out to those potential customers.

San Jose 233

San Jose Bootstrapping Hosting Engineer 233

Steve Blank

JULY 19, 2016

— Peter says they launched Prezi in the middle of the 2008 crash, with the audacious goal of taking on Apple, Microsoft and Google. Again, remember, everyone was losing their job, no one was willing to invest and so we had to bootstrap Prezi in the beginning. Filed under: Customer Development , SiriusXM Radio Show.

Cofounder 120

Cofounder Entrepreneur Silicon Valley Sweden 120

Startup Lessons Learned

FEBRUARY 9, 2009

The Lean Startup is a practical approach for creating and managing a new breed of company that excels in low-cost experimentation, rapid iteration, and true customer insight. If youre interested in being part of my "customer advisory board" for this presentation, please get in touch. And thats where the call for help comes in.

Lean 68

Lean San Francisco Web Advisory Board 68

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 3, 2010

I asked her not to assume that investors will be investing in this business idea, at least not until she can acquire some level of validation, which means tens, if not hundreds of thousands of customers, and several partnerships with daily deal sites. I started doing my free Online Strategy Roundtables for entrepreneurs in the fall of 2008.

Channel 115

Channel India Bootstrapping Silicon Valley 115

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 28, 2010

At today's roundtable we saw three very nice businesses, each with pilot customers, and each working on real problems. Antonio has 100 trial customers at the moment, and is looking to figure out exactly what his company positioning is going to be. And these pilots will pay for her early bootstrapping phase.

Partner 117

Partner Belgium Portugal Bootstrapping 117

Mucker Lab

MARCH 8, 2016

Four years after founding and bootstrapping Mucker Capital , we are pleased to announce the close of a new $45 million fund, Mucker III. How can we tell founders to stay lean, keep focused on their customers, and keep burn rates low if we cannot walk the talk and eat our own dog food?

Burn Rate 60

Burn Rate Limited Partner Bootstrapping Portfolio 60

Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 18, 2010

Ash Maurya is the founder of WiredReach , a bootstrapped startup that he has been running for seven years. Recently, he was bitten by the lean startup bug and has started writing about his experiences attempting to apply lean startup and customer development principles. On the one hand, this is the ultimate in customer responsiveness.

Continuous Deployment 151

Continuous Deployment San Francisco Lean Wiki 151

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 29, 2010

Each part of the program is organized around one phase of the Build-Measure-Learn feedback loop and begins with a keynote address from a heavy hitter: Steve Blank on Customer Development, Randy Komisar on "Getting to Plan B" and - a third person, not-yet-announced-but-extremely-cool-trust-me. Were in pursuit of the truth, not orthodoxy.

San Francisco 120

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 120

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 14, 2010

I want to know how many customers exist out there who would be likely buyers of the O-Port products, at what price-point, and what does that add up to? David should use his credibility in capacity planning and convince a dozen customers to pay him consulting fees to solve their capacity planning problems. 30 million market?

Bootstrapping 114

Bootstrapping Marketing Angel Investor Silicon Valley 114

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 14, 2009

Take a look: This full-day Master Class focuses on how to build a startup from the ground up to focus on customers, markets, and speed of iteration. Im working on a future post where Ill share the details of how I used customer development to shape both the content and packaging of this event, so look for that soon. Cash is tight.

Lean 60

Lean San Francisco Continuous Deployment Software Review 60

www.subelsky.com

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

Im still able to surprise people who have worked with me for awhile with how quickly I can turn their feature ideas into something they can play with and show customers. For continuous integration, like many Rails shops, we use CruiseControl.rb - its easy to install and customize, but I dont think people are especially enamored of it.

Lean 41

Lean Baltimore Ruby Maryland 41

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 21, 2011

I presented my usual 1M/1M perspective on bootstrapping. Even if there were fleeting thoughts of being bailed out by investors, they have now been banished and we are focusing on bootstrapping and making the model work with customer money." From 2008 to 2010, Mitra was a columnist for Forbes. StratExcel. System-Sea.

Networking 115

Networking Partner Entrepreneur Bootstrapping 115

ReadWriteStart

NOVEMBER 4, 2010

The premium lounge includes an online curriculum addressing the common topics specific to very early stage entrepreneurship; private roundtables that many of you have requested; customer, channel partners, and investor introductions; media and analyst access; and a variety of other value-added services to make our entrepreneurs successful.

Startup 113

Startup India Silicon Valley Incubator 113

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 5, 2009

That’s because the model is based on assumptions about customers that are totally unproven. If we already knew who the customer was, how they would behave, how much they would pay, and how to reach them, this wouldn’t be a disruptive innovation. The solution is to change our focus from outputs to inputs. If it costs $0.10

San Francisco 102

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment Startup 102

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 18, 2010

That process involves rapid hypothesis testing, validated learning about customers , and a disciplined approach to product development. Truth: The Lean Startup methodology applies to all companies that face uncertainty about what customers will want. Myth: Lean Startups are small bootstrapped startups.

Lean 167

Lean San Francisco Continuous Deployment Startup 167

Up and Running

AUGUST 5, 2015

MindKube’s inception: The year was 2008, and Natasha, like everyone, felt the effect of a badly wounded economy that did not afford many opportunities for career growth, but rather asked that all work harder for less. Always work hard, but be prepared to work hardest in the beginning. In the beginning, Natasha took all jobs that came along.

Trinidad 60

Trinidad Software Review Small Business Administration Small Business 60

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 30, 2010

All I could assess that he is bound to face a chicken-and-egg problem - not having enough scale to attract product vendors to use their channel, versus not having products with which to build a customer base. Detailed segmentation analysis and target customer definition at a fairly granular level. How does he mitigate that?

India 115

India Silicon Valley Incubator Bootstrapping 115

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 7, 2011

It could be a good business to bootstrap the social/mobile edutainment business with. The company sells to the marketing departments of corporations, has 50 customers, and is already profitable. The entrepreneur seems obsessed with building his own brand and selling directly to end customers. A mistake, in my opinion.

Malaysia 114

Malaysia Incubator Silicon Valley Entrepreneur 114

Mike Michalowicz

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

Hot or Not sold for an estimated $20M in February 2008. Engage the customer early – Millennial entrepreneurs have taught us to introduce a concept in its “beta” or even “alpha” state so that you can get critical feedback from customers on what is working and what’s not. In a big way.

Entrepreneur 60

Entrepreneur Cloud Incubator Bootstrapping 60

Software By Rob

MARCH 26, 2015

I decided it was time to put pen to paper and lay out what I see as a repeatable path with a higher-than-normal success rate, to bootstrapping yourself to the point of quitting your job. Here’s how it works: Step 1: Your First Product. Getting those initial early sales is a big win. all at once.

Bootstrapping 41

Bootstrapping Technical Review SEO Revenue 41

Professor VC

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

However, liked the team, and Dennis Mink, FootFeeds CEO, convinced me of the value in check-ins as a white label service for brands to market to their customers. Bootstrapping 101. ► 2008. (14). Everyone tries to have a memorable demo, often with a musical number, quasi celebrity or skit. ► July. (1). ► May. (1).

Technical Review 38

Technical Review San Jose Angel Investor Silicon Valley 38

Professor VC

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008

Tuesday, September 16, 2008. Perhaps, its that old joke: Q: What two industries call their customers "users"? December 17, 2008 11:35 PM. December 18, 2008 9:07 AM. December 27, 2008 11:28 AM. Bootstrapping 101. ▼ 2008. (14). The last blogger in Silicon Valley. Steve Bennet. Anonymous said.

San Jose 28

San Jose Technical Review Angel Investor Silicon Valley 28

Software By Rob

MARCH 26, 2015

I decided it was time to put pen to paper and lay out what I see as a repeatable path with a higher-than-normal success rate, to bootstrapping yourself to the point of quitting your job. Here’s how it works: Step 1: Your First Product. Getting those initial early sales is a big win. all at once.

Bootstrapping 36

Bootstrapping Technical Review SEO Revenue 36

Software By Rob

MARCH 26, 2015

I decided it was time to put pen to paper and lay out what I see as a repeatable path with a higher-than-normal success rate, to bootstrapping yourself to the point of quitting your job. Here’s how it works: Step 1: Your First Product. Getting those initial early sales is a big win. all at once.

Bootstrapping 27

Bootstrapping Technical Review SEO Revenue 27

Professor VC

NOVEMBER 13, 2008

Thursday, November 13, 2008. Also, if the weather gets really bad, they offer a full refund voucher good for your next trip - all about customer retention. Bootstrapping 101. ▼ 2008. (14). ProfessorVC. The last blogger in Silicon Valley. Just returned from a golf trip to Bandon Dunes , Oregon. ► July. (1).

Oregon 28

Oregon San Jose Angel Investor Silicon Valley 28

Professor VC

JULY 31, 2008

Thursday, July 31, 2008. Last year, I tried out a custom textbook through one of the major publishers, which seemed like a great way to go. Bootstrapping 101. ▼ 2008. (14). ProfessorVC. The last blogger in Silicon Valley. Where did Summer Go? Its been a while since my last blog post.It Now Its Organic Chemistry."

San Jose 28

San Jose Software Review Angel Investor Silicon Valley 28

Tim Keane

MARCH 24, 2008

» March 24, 2008. You (the entrepreneur and founder of this "company") hire a call center to take calls from customers who want an inexpensive medical diagnosis. The business proposition is to allow customers to call and describe their symptoms. The call center then calls the customer and relays the diagnosis.

Wisconsin 60

Wisconsin Angel Investor Bootstrapping Startup 60