The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 22, 2013

If you pick one vertical and do it well, other folks will find you. Bootstrapping can be fun, you get to iterate quickly, turn on dimes, invent new features on the fly. It took us 10 months and conversations with 70+ VC firms to raise our Series A round. Find your niche. Don’t try to be everything to everyone right away.

Cofounder 164

Cofounder Founder Startup Bootstrapping 164

ConversionXL

MAY 27, 2022

Bootstrapped startup Omnisend carved out a $19 million niche in an already saturated vertical. Without a focused, integrated demand generation strategy, lead generation delivers disinterested leads that frustrate sales reps and result in low conversion rates. SEO should lead with intent.

Lead Generation 107

Lead Generation Demand Audience eCommerce 107

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

JANUARY 13, 2015

Often your best estimate of any metric or market behavior or business model component is at best accurate within a power of ten, for example “expected conversion rate between 0.5% But if not that, then SEO or blog posts or tweets or word of mouth and so on, so it’s still going to take 10s of millions of impressions.

Business Model 120

Business Model Affiliate Startup Bootstrapping 120

Hippoland

AUGUST 8, 2018

Or second time founders focus on lucrative verticals that pay more per eyeball or focus on ad formats that pay more (such as email newsletter sponsorships). Although you can make more money by running per-click or per-action ads on a per conversion basis, it’s also a lot harder to bring about these actions.

Founder 48

Founder Sales Cycle Affiliate Retention 48

Hippoland

AUGUST 8, 2018

Or second time founders focus on lucrative verticals that pay more per eyeball or focus on ad formats that pay more (such as email newsletter sponsorships). Although you can make more money by running per-click or per-action ads on a per conversion basis, it’s also a lot harder to bring about these actions.

Founder 48

Founder Sales Cycle Affiliate Retention 48

Software By Rob

NOVEMBER 2, 2011

This applies to bootstrapped companies. I’ve seen first-hand how funded competition can crush a bootstrapping company. And your search engine rankings drop as competitors hire high-end SEO firms. All of this combines to make vertical niches the best option, by far, for someone bootstrapping a company. #3:

Bootstrapping 75

Bootstrapping Revenue Vertical Advertising 75