Jeff Hilimire

OCTOBER 8, 2014

We actually met taking some web development classes in Chicago. I was doing an early-stage startup in Chicago and Betsy was running a physical product development company in Charlotte that she’d recently sold. Both Betsy and I come from entrepreneurial backgrounds before starting TTS.

Cofounder 68

Cofounder Charlotte Raleigh Atlanta 68

crowdSPRING Blog

JULY 21, 2010

Bootstrapped, Profitable, & Proud: AnswerLab - [link]. Chicago’s Digital Ten (companies) to Watch – [link]. Good advice … How To Sell – [link]. 10 Tips For Making Your Tagline Stand Out – [link]. Some Thoughts On The Seed Fund Phenomenon – by @fredwilson – [link].

Social Media 93

Social Media Small Business Design Media 93

crowdSPRING Blog

JULY 21, 2010

Bootstrapped, Profitable, & Proud: AnswerLab - [link]. Chicago’s Digital Ten (companies) to Watch – [link]. Good advice … How To Sell – [link]. 10 Tips For Making Your Tagline Stand Out – [link]. Some Thoughts On The Seed Fund Phenomenon – by @fredwilson – [link].

Social Media 93

Social Media Small Business Design Media 93

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 31, 2017

That’s the approach we’re taking at The Startup Collaborative, where companies that are still bootstrapping can share space with companies that have already been validated by the market and are ready to raise capital. Pritzker’s formation of the 1871 collaborative startup lab in Chicago is similar to what’s been happening here in Omaha.

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Omaha Nebraska Chicago Incubator 100

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 5, 2012

But Chicago-based startup MentorMob ( www.mentormob.com ) wants to change that – the free, community-based collaborative service aims to aggregate and organize the best online educational content on any topic, so it’s easier to find. MentorMob is bootstrapped and has 12 employees.

Illinois 165

Illinois Aggregator Chicago Widget 165

Duct Tape Marketing

JUNE 4, 2015

Services we provide include brand identity, integrated marketing, inbound marketing strategy, art direction, web-design & development, startup incubation and product development services to a wide array of clients ranging from bootstrapped startups to successful longstanding companies.

Web 28

Web Technical Review Sales Cycle Cofounder 28

The Next Web

FEBRUARY 27, 2014

George Deeb is the Managing Partner at Chicago-based Red Rocket Ventures , a startup consulting and financial advisory firm based in Chicago. Freshman are a piece of paper to beta site (bootstrap financed—raise $50K to $500K). You can follow George on Twitter at @georgedeeb and @RedRocketVC.

Valuation 167

Valuation Forecast Seed Stage .Net 167

www.inc.com

JULY 9, 2010

Wed say, "Hey, were going to be in Chicago. Perrault says the company started scheduling Meebo meetups around the world and asking fans and users to come out to rub elbows with the Meebo staff. Were going to be in Japan. Were going to be in New York. If youre interested in Meebo, come to XYZ coffee shop," he says.

Intellectual Property 55

Intellectual Property Los Angeles San Francisco New York 55

The Next Web

DECEMBER 6, 2013

Drew Myler is Interaction Designer at Signal , a Chicago-based provider of mobile marketing technology. A company lives and dies by its revenue stream, especially when trying to bootstrap the business. This article is part of Drew’s series, 12 Days of Ideas: Building and Marketing Web Products, published his personal blog.

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Churn Rate Product Chicago Bootstrapping 136

techcocktail.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Software Engineer—PHP—Energy Software for the Smart Grid @ Agentis Energy (Elmhurst, IL) Sr. Software Engineer @ General Electric (Barrington, IL) Sr.

San Francisco 44

San Francisco Startup PHP San Diego 44

crowdSPRING Blog

MARCH 23, 2018

chicago crushes it! Long but good read with lots of insights … Selling My Bootstrapped SaaS Business – Indie Hackers [link] pic.twitter.com/TrjRSe2Hzk. city with the biggest VC returns: Chicago [link]. How Amazon’s Bottomless Appetite Became Corporate America’s Nightmare – [link] pic.twitter.com/QDHeADaAb5.

Small Business 52

Small Business Design LBO Harvest 52

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 31, 2016

It’s much lower cost, meaning it’s possible to bootstrap your way up. Alarik then moved to Chicago and had to reduce the size of his business. Usually, they’re forced to operate within their own homes, at least for the first few months. Starting a business in your own home brings a whole host of advantages.

Green 100

Green Chicago Washington Bootstrapping 100

crowdSPRING Blog

OCTOBER 23, 2012

Well, if you happen to be a company in Chicago, search no more! There are a good number of IT companies in Chicago that service small to medium sized businesses who range widely in quality of service. It was during this time that the “snowpocalypse” hit Chicago. What are some industry specific challenges you faced?

Small Business 72

Small Business Chicago Bootstrapping PR 72

Duct Tape Marketing

FEBRUARY 20, 2024

A lifelong entrepreneur, Jason has been named to Crain’s Chicago Business 40 Under 40 list and was named EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year Midwest. He is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and The Economic Club of Chicago. John (02:33): Yeah. Have you been able to keep that in the culture and the values?

Chicago 50

Chicago Campaign Software Review Software Engineering 50

The Entrepreneurial Mind

JUNE 3, 2010

Dad was born near Chicago in 1921. My commitment to bootstrapping comes from my Dad. He was a child of the Great Depression, so bootstrapping came naturally. Tags: Bootstrapping Ethics and Values bootstrapping Great Depression Ocomomowoc Ripon. Over the years Dad grew to become my mentor and my friend.

Wisconsin 53

Wisconsin Bootstrapping Miami Houston 53

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 25, 2014

Larry was loathe to sell any of the company stock; he generally took a dim view of VCs and preferred to bootstrap. I remember when we hired Tom Siebel —Larry was so excited, telling me about this deadly smart guy we just hired in Chicago who was sitting in our conference room that very minute! There we were, right under their noses!

Technical Review 333

Technical Review Venture Capital Software Review Database 333

Hearpreneur

DECEMBER 17, 2021

Having launched my bootstrap startup earlier this year my motivation to grow the business is to get beyond the initial MVP/ POC stage. Thanks to Nick Antonopoulos, SEO Digital Chicago ! #26- That deep-seated belief will tell you to push through, that everything will be worth it in the long run. Thanks to Saskia Ketz, Mojomox ! #17-

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Non-Compete Green Video 110

Up and Running

APRIL 1, 2015

Though David attended the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and had played professional poker, none of them had ever started a business before. Funding a Business BloomNation bootstrapping funding startup VC venture capital' From a budding idea to a blooming business. See Also What Do Venture Capital Firms Want?

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Venture Capital Startup Cofounder Chicago 60

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 6, 2011

John has rightly observed that many small companies, as well as foreign companies trying to get into the United States, have limited budget, and could use 25% of the time of a sales rep in each geography, say, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and Seattle. I like the idea, and recognize the problem.

Vertical 115

Vertical Web San Francisco Entrepreneur 115

crowdSPRING Blog

MARCH 16, 2012

Competitive Differentiation that Matters – [link] 7 Rules for Bootstrapping a Business – [link]. A Start-Up Ecosystem Forms in Chicago – [link]. 5 New Spots for Chicago Tech Entrepreneurs – [link]. 7 Rules for Bootstrapping a Business – [link]. Why Do Some People Learn Faster? – [link].

Social Media 94

Social Media Small Business Design Media 94

Rob Go

JANUARY 16, 2013

I went to Groupon to find the daily deal site has just launched a couple weeks prior in Boston, after running a few deals in CHicago in late 2008. Today, it was reported that Lynda raised $103M after bootstrapping itself to over $100M in revenue. Really impressive.

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Seed Stage Chicago Aggregator Bootstrapping 38

crowdSPRING Blog

MARCH 13, 2014

“Chicago’s venture funding performance is improving [but] Chicago is still trailing several major metro areas.” 15 Best Bootstrap Design Tools – crowdspring.co/1ncKgIa. A Deeper Look at Uber’s Dynamic Pricing Model – crowdspring.co/1kK4gjw. 4 Hard Earned Lessons from Ben Horowitz – crowdspring.co/1emJcIa.

Social Media 96

Social Media Small Business Design Media 96

Reid Hoffman

MARCH 19, 2019

O’Reilly cites a number of these successfully bootstrapped businesses in his piece, including Mailchimp, Atlassian, Shutterstock, Basecamp, and RXBAR. That is a laudable and time-honored achievement. All of these are great businesses with happy customers. All of their founders and employees have done well. But this is just the beginning.

Cofounder 28

Cofounder Business Model IPO Non-Compete 28

crowdSPRING Blog

MAY 19, 2011

Turning an Addiction into a Bootstrapped Startup – [link]. Rose and the Chicago neighborhood – Englewood – where he grew up – [link]. Interesting “futuristic&# library at the University of Chicago (still houses physical books) – [link]. Outstanding story about D.

Social Media 94

Social Media Small Business Design Media 94

crowdSPRING Blog

APRIL 11, 2014

The image above shows a typical rush hour in Chicago in 1909. Showcase of Useful Bootstrap Tools For Web Developers - crowdspring.co/1kY1Qey. Chicago Rush Hour, 1909 – pic.twitter.com/JJP7AwhMzv. Here are some of the links that I’ve liked and shared this past week! 20 Creative Negative Space Logo Designs - crowdspring.co/1lNUtJx.

Social Media 94

Social Media Small Business Design Media 94

crowdSPRING Blog

FEBRUARY 7, 2014

21 Reasons To Bootstrap Your Startup | ZoomShift – crowdspring.co/M5SXUd. Why Chicago needs to stop playing by Silicon Valley’s rules | by Adrian Holovaty – crowdspring.co/1f87594. A special report from The Economist on Tech Startups. Here’s the full PDF – crowdspring.co/1cNY3hP. – crowdspring.co/1f7WXgp.

Social Media 95

Social Media Small Business Design Media 95

Hearpreneur

JUNE 14, 2017

We’ve continued bootstrapping since then — today we are a $2.5 million+ company, with 60+ team members doing tours in NYC, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington DC and Los Angeles.”. I hired another guide to help with the load, and I started charging for tickets to pay the guide. Thanks to Nick Gray, Museum Hack ! #2

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur South Africa PR Thailand 126

crowdSPRING Blog

JANUARY 4, 2013

Don’t Accidentally Bootstrap Yourself to Death | saastr – [link]. Lightbank Aims To Change The VC Game As It Expands Its Investments Beyond Chicago | TechCrunch – [link]. How One Startup Grew a $100M Business Without Spending Venture Capital | Forbes – [link]. – [link].

Social Media 100

Social Media Small Business Design Media 100

Austin Startup

JUNE 26, 2019

and * on a bootstrapped budget* : We first engaged in customer surveys and validated a huge problem?—?several Our venture was selected for competitive accelerator spots & recognition from media and mentors from Austin, Chicago and Silicon Valley to work on this problem and capture the value its solution provided. So what happened?

Silicon Valley 54

Silicon Valley Startup B2C Sweat Equity 54

Up and Running

FEBRUARY 20, 2015

Bootstrapping your business. If you aren’t familiar with the term, bootstrapping, also known as “self-funding,” refers to the various methods entrepreneurs can use to fund their startups beyond funding sources like small business loans. Using a side business to bootstrap your startup. Let’s begin.

Bootstrapping 60

Bootstrapping Startup Louisiana Cofounder 60

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

AUGUST 8, 2012

On the other hand, if you get 1,000 people… Let’s say if, for argument’s sake, I get 50 people in Chicago to sign up because that’s where I’m located at, and I get between 10 and 20 properties. I mean, I live in Chicago, and I’m not far from Northwestern University, which is in Evanston. Jared: Yeah.

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API Software Review Hosting Technical Review 220

dondodge.typepad.com

JANUARY 15, 2011

from David Dalka - Creating Revenue and Retention - Chicago GSB MBA As discussed in my recent post about a TiE event on Chicago start ups, there are many factors to consider when taking in funding and employees. In that case, VC money is used mainly for "acceleration" and not for bootstrapping. Id like to ask t.

Equity 40

Equity Employee Dilution Valuation 40

www.inc.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

INC TV Video Slideshows Home Magazine Contact Us About Us Advertise Events Legal Disclaimers Privacy Policies Subscribe Inc. 500|5000 Copyright © 2010 Mansueto Ventures LLC.

Fractional CTO 42

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire Hiring 42

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

NOVEMBER 21, 2011

Patrick: CRM is a very rich space with a lot of different players in it as we’re talking about finding that niche I’m reminded of a company in Chicago that makes a rich CRM product that works more with Microsoft products where the focus is on the professionals. The other is, ‘Don’t forget about bootstrapping.’

Widget 204

Widget Cofounder Technical Review Software Review 204

Hunter Walker

JUNE 26, 2015

But for most it’s a lumpy mixture of bootstrapping, friends and family, hackathon prizes, angels, incubators/accelerators and venture capital which combine over a period of months or years.

Cofounder 48

Cofounder Chicago Vertical Incubator 48

crowdSPRING Blog

JANUARY 16, 2015

50 Chicago tech CEOs, founders, designers & hackers you should follow on Twitter: tinyurl.com/q85zsa7. 11 Bootstrap UI Editors For Developers crowdspring.co/1Dkibmy. Here’s the Advice I Give All of Our First Time Founders | First Round – buff.ly/1xrEwJt. A Teenager’s View on Social Media – buff.ly/1xpcX3q.

Small Business 48

Small Business Design Social Media Startup 48

Up and Running

JUNE 13, 2015

I don’t believe in the myth of the self-made man or woman that you are who you are, and you can achieve what you can achieve really because you believed it hard enough, and you pulled yourself up by your bootstraps to get there. I’m a fan of hard work. The reality is we all are interdependent on each other.

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Video Burundi South Africa Portfolio 60