YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 29, 2016

by Rebecca Weible, founder of Yo Yoga! When you’re opening a business with very little money, you know logically that this will make an already hard thing even harder and require even more work. ’ Rebecca Weible is the founder of Yo Yoga! But you don’t actually know until you are in the thick of it.

Bootstrapping 189

Bootstrapping New York City New Jersey New York 189

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

I’ve been a traditional equity VC for 8 years, and I’m now researching new business models in venture capital. John Borchers, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Decathlon Capital, claims to be the largest revenue-based financing investor in the US. RBI structures help to protect the equity of both founders and investors.

Revenue 60

Revenue Term Sheet Founder Technical Review 60

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2015

Most technologists have little interest in the mechanics of starting and building a business. That’s why I recommend that they find a co-founder who loves business challenges, including marketing and finance. Outside investors are most interested in scaling a proven business model, not research and development.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Intellectual Property Cofounder Bootstrapping 120

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 20, 2015

How do you convince investors that your business model will really work, before you have a revenue stream that exceeds your expenses? Even if you are bootstrapping your business, and you are the only investor, you should be asking yourself the same question. Customer support is more than handling exceptions.

Business Model 120

Business Model Angel Investor Startup Bootstrapping 120

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2019

If your target customer is a business, rather than a consumer, I recommend you skip crowdfunding as poorly applicable. Most startups need more money than they anticipated, to grow and expand their business, after development and rollout. They don’t get excited by early stage research, development, or marketing hype.

Non-disclosure Agreement 299

Non-disclosure Agreement Angel Investor Bootstrapping SEC 299

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 16, 2011

Freshdesk First, Girish Mathrubootham from Chennai, India, pitched Freshdesk , a SaaS company that provides small and medium businesses with on-demand customer support software that offers multi-channel social support. Freshdesk introduces itself as a kind of Salesforce.com for customer support so to speak.

India 123

India Bootstrapping Non-Compete Entrepreneur 123

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2013

They evaluate you like you should assess a possible co-founder or first employee. Customer needs and benefits first, then product features. They are able to weave their solution into the market, the opportunity, and customers, in a way that sounds like a natural fit, rather than a product sales pitch. Investors are people too.

Founder 270

Founder Cofounder Bootstrapping Entrepreneur 270

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 18, 2020

When I heard a friend and business mentor say, “Your startup won’t fail if you don’t quit,” I realized that every entrepreneur should adopt “never give up” as their mantra. Rather than quitting, there are always alternatives, like pivoting the business model or merging with new partners for support. So why do most startups fail?

Entrepreneur 304

Entrepreneur Bootstrapping Business Model Social Media 304

Gust

DECEMBER 7, 2014

Based on the Startup Environment Index from the Kauffman Foundation and LegalZoom a while back, personal money, or bootstrapping, continues to be the primary startup funding source. At least wait until later, when you ready to scale, and have some “leverage” based on a proven business model, some real customers, and real revenue.

Bootstrapping 191

Bootstrapping Entrepreneur Startup Burn Rate 191

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 14, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Tuesday, April 14, 2009 Validated learning about customers Would you rather have $30,000 or $1 million in revenues for your startup? This may sound crazy, coming as it does from an advocate of c harging customers for your product from day one. They are gaining valuable customer data.

Customer 167

Customer San Francisco Lean Hockey Stick 167

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 29, 2020

In other words, you must start bootstrapping an online startup , because the future of the global business world is online. The companies that have the greatest chance of surviving the global economic shutdown are the ones that have pivoted their business processes from the brick-and-mortar model to an online model.

Bootstrapping 85

Bootstrapping Global Startup Hungary 85

Professor VC

MARCH 10, 2009

Bootstrapping 101. I moderated a panel discussion last night on one of my favorite topics, bootstrapping, as part of our Silicon Valley Center for Entrepreneurship Eminent Speaker Series at San Jose State. They have a standard presentation on bootstrapping, which they present around the country. ProfessorVC. Steve Bennet.

Bootstrapping 28

Bootstrapping San Jose Silicon Valley Software Review 28

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2023

Businesses require an equally elegant business model, with the right price, messaging and delivery channel to the right target customers to keep the dream alive and growing. Defining the right business model requires the same diligence as designing the right product, but the approach and skills required are different.

Technical Review 220

Technical Review Advisory Board Software Review Business Model 220

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2021

Businesses require an equally elegant business model, with the right price, messaging and delivery channel to the right target customers to keep the dream alive and growing. Defining the right business model requires the same diligence as designing the right product, but the approach and skills required are different.

Technical Review 399

Technical Review Product Advisory Board Business Model 399

Duct Tape Marketing

APRIL 6, 2022

Steve is the CEO of Founders Space, one of the world’s leading startup accelerators with over 50 partners in 22 countries. Founders Space was ranked the #1 incubator for overseas startups by Forbes and Entrepreneur Magazines. 15:05] Do you think that the no headquarters model is going to impact startups going forward? [17:14]

San Francisco 97

San Francisco Technical Review Incubator Silicon Valley 97

Up and Running

JULY 10, 2017

Different sources define freemium as a business model or a pricing strategy. To determine whether freemium is right for you, do the simple math: Figure out how many paying customers you need to run the company. If you charge every user $50 and spend $10K to pay the business bills, you need at least 200 customers to break even.

Startup 110

Startup Non-Compete Viral Software Review 110

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

I’ve been a traditional equity VC for 8 years, and I’m now researching new business models in venture capital. RBI normally requires founders to pay back their investors with a fixed percentage of revenue until they have finished providing the investor with a fixed return on capital, which they agree upon in advance.

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

Austin Startup

AUGUST 3, 2017

I want to understand who the customer is, what problem you solve, and how you do it. It might be a great idea with a solid business model but it still might not be a good fit for venture funding. If it doesn’t require much capital to get started and make money then it might be a better idea to bootstrap it.

Technical Review 69

Technical Review Startup Texas Email 69

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

MAY 1, 2012

This is a choice that every startup founder must make , so I’d like to dig in deeper. To clarify the discussion, let’s use a simpler model: Companies A and B both sell products with recurring monthly revenue, and both brought in $10,000 in revenue last month. Company A has 1,000 customers each paying $10/mo.

Customer 320

Customer Revenue Acquisition Cofounder 320

The Next Web

AUGUST 26, 2013

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Christian Reber, CEO and co-founder of Berlin-based 6Wunderkinder. So far I have shared with you 9 simple steps to start your own tech business ((don’t miss part 1 , part 2 , and part 3 ). Raise your first round of money, or bootstrap. There are two ways to start a tech business.

Management 120

Management Cofounder Startup Bootstrapping 120

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 7, 2015

Businesses require an equally elegant business model, with the right price, messaging and delivery channel to the right target customers to keep the dream alive and growing. Defining the right business model requires the same diligence as designing the right product, but the approach and skills required are different.

Business Model 120

Business Model Technical Review Advisory Board Software Review 120

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2015

Yet many entrepreneurs rely on expensive outside services and outside money, rather than do the networking for a co-founder or two who have the right skills to work for equity. Bootstrapping not only reduces cash needs, but increases commitment. These would include the following: You have a proven business model.

Bootstrapping 120

Bootstrapping Cofounder Equity Agile 120

Up and Running

MARCH 8, 2016

You will also find information provided by two people currently involved in the industry: Matthew Mercuri, Digital Marketing Manager at Dupray, and Simon Brooks, the founder of Squiffy Clean. It will help you find customers, and craft the right marketing messages so that they choose you! You’ve spoken to your customers.

SBA 60

SBA Technical Review Software Review Business Plan 60

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2016

I still hear often the dream of a free service to users, supported by advertising, per the Facebook model. Business founders need deep pockets for this model. Until a new brand has national recognition or high promotion, it won’t be found or used by local customers or out of town visitors.

New York City 158

New York City Kansas Advertising Cash Position 158

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 15, 2018

When I heard a friend and business mentor say, “Your startup won’t fail if you don’t quit,” I realized that every entrepreneur should adopt “never give up” as their mantra. Rather than quitting, there are always alternatives, like pivoting the business model or merging with new partners for support. So why do most startups fail?

Bootstrapping 141

Bootstrapping Business Model Social Media Partner 141

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 10, 2014

When I heard a friend and business mentor say, “Your startup won’t fail if you don’t quit,” I realized that every entrepreneur should adopt “never give up” as their mantra. Rather than quitting, there are always alternatives, like pivoting the business model or merging with new partners for support. So why do most startups fail?

Startup 275

Startup Bootstrapping Business Model Social Media 275

Sophia Perl of Wisdom

NOVEMBER 9, 2010

Note to self, this event is not for alpha products with no customers. Raise more money than you need because your business model may change. The business model for residential solar panel company: contract with customer, local rebates, and tax benefits. Check out the twitter feed from the event.

CTO Hire 49

CTO Hire Cofounder Fractional CTO San Francisco 49

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2018

Bootstrapping allows you to maintain full control of your startup strategy, retain maximum equity, and avoid the time delay and energy spent to attract outside investors. You need a business degree to start a venture today. In today’s world, more successful entrepreneurs have built on degrees in engineering rather than business.

Incubator 180

Incubator Angel Investor Dilution Equity 180

SoCal CTO

JULY 13, 2011

This site aggregates and filters content from thought leaders who talk about topics such as Marketing , Sales , Design , Revenue , Hiring , Social Media , Business Models , Metrics , PR , Venture Capital , Angel Investors , Bootstrapping , Incubators , Agile and many others.

Intellectual Property 175

Intellectual Property Aggregator Startup IP 175

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2015

Asking for early-stage money before you have customers and revenue will likely kill your credibility with real investors. Seed-stage, meanwhil e, is technically that critical period when you need funding to do solution- and business-model development, to prove that your new product or service works, before you try to sell it to customers.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Finance Early Stage Startup 120

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 13, 2019

If you can prove a business model, traction, and potential for a tremendous scale with the right backing, you could be a ripe target to be acquired. . Whether a brand new bootstrapped startup or corporate giant, your altitude, sustainability, and traction has everything to do with your team. Distribution & Customers.

Intellectual Property 101

Intellectual Property IP Acquisition Startup 101

Sophia Perl of Wisdom

NOVEMBER 9, 2010

Note to self, this event is not for alpha products with no customers. Raise more money than you need because your business model may change. The business model for residential solar panel company: contract with customer, local rebates, and tax benefits. Check out the twitter feed from the event.

CTO Hire 40

CTO Hire Cofounder Fractional CTO San Francisco 40

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 26, 2012

150 people came together, and 17 businesses were formed. MJ Charmani, founder of iStart Jax, a business accelerator, and one of the key organizers of the event, introduced today's session with additional reports on last weekend's event. Even seed investors generally fund businesses that are already rolling. SustanAbin.

Jacksonville 114

Jacksonville Florida PPC Programming 114

Hippoland

AUGUST 8, 2018

At Hustle Fund, we back both first time founders as well as repeat founders. One thing I’ve noticed is that almost every repeat, previously-successful-founder focuses on the same thing for their respective startups: customer acquisition. don’t think about at all. This is obvious. Marketing first.

Founder 48

Founder Sales Cycle Affiliate Retention 48

Hippoland

AUGUST 8, 2018

At Hustle Fund, we back both first time founders as well as repeat founders. One thing I’ve noticed is that almost every repeat, previously-successful-founder focuses on the same thing for their respective startups: customer acquisition. don’t think about at all. This is obvious. Marketing first.

Founder 48

Founder Sales Cycle Affiliate Retention 48

Tim Keane

DECEMBER 14, 2009

   We worked all day building market strategies for customers while we tried to embody our expertise on software that would expand the company's reach.    Interestingly, the consulting business remained and is a mainstay even today.  .  A way to fund a startup is to get a job.    Yup. 

Burn Rate 60

Burn Rate Angel Groups Seed Stage Startup 60

Up and Running

DECEMBER 23, 2019

One of the most important decisions a new business owner can make is how they’re going to finance their venture. . Bootstrapping, saving funds over years, borrowing from friends and family, taking out a bank loan and pitching investors are all viable options, but some will work better than others for your specific business. .

Finance 92

Finance Sweat Equity Bootstrapping Entrepreneur 92