Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. After bootstrapping, friends and family are the most common funding sources for early-stage startups.

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2015

Yet in this age when customers have a thousand alternatives, and are overwhelmed by a multitude of messages, sales efforts can make or break a business. In fact, I believe modern entrepreneurs need to be super sales people, in the most positive sense, to their team as well as customers. No pain usually means no sales.

Sales 120

Sales Entrepreneur Bootstrapping Technical Review 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

The cost of entry has never been lower. In the early days (20 years ago), most new e-commerce sites cost a million dollars to set up. The cost for the domain name is maybe $10/year, and the hosting starts around $50/year. This costs nothing, and allows you to safely collect money from customers all around the world.

Cost 220

Cost Startup Hosting Bootstrapping 220

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. After bootstrapping, friends and family are the most common funding sources for early-stage startups.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 283

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2013

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. After bootstrapping, friends and family are the most common funding sources for early-stage startups.

Intellectual Property 309

Intellectual Property Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 309

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Commit to a major customer.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

It’s often said that you shouldn’t talk about price during customer development interviews. ” How many times have you heard someone agree that “it would be great if someone did X,” but when show them someone did do X, but it costs $39.99, they don’t buy? simple enough to be self-service).

Bootstrapping 294

Bootstrapping Technical Review B2C Sales Cycle 294

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 3, 2014

When someone asks me for the best way to fund a startup, I always say bootstrap it, meaning fund it yourself and grow organically. Bootstrapping avoids all the cost, pain, and distractions of finding angels or VCs, and allows you to keep control and all your hard-earned equity for yourself. Do it yourself. Marty Zwilling.

Bootstrapping 278

Bootstrapping Startup Merger Salary 278

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2023

External investors will demand a financial forecast, but it’s equally valuable to you, even if bootstrapping. Projecting financials is a natural extension of the homework every entrepreneur needs to do on customer opportunity size, product costs, pricing, competition and customer value. Forecast sales-volume expectations.

Forecast 290

Forecast Burn Rate Widget Business Plan 290

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

It can be the idea, the customers, the mission, the grind—whatever it is; there’s something that keeps you going. Sure, your friends and family say they love it, but that doesn’t guarantee that actual customers will. Take the time to conduct market research and identify your target customers. That’s completely fine.

Forecast 154

Forecast Software Review Bootstrapping Finance 154

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2015

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Commit to a major customer.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 120

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2014

The cost of entry has never been lower. In the early days (20 years ago), most new e-commerce sites, for example, cost a million dollars to set up. The cost for the domain name is maybe $10/year, and the hosting starts around $50/year. A simple example might be a mortgage calculator to add to your real estate sales site.

Startup 252

Startup eCommerce Hosting Bootstrapping 252

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

APRIL 29, 2013

Even after the first hundred customers, half of those were serendipitous one-offs, not representative of repeatable, controllable customer acquisition, and the scale of the data isn’t statistically significant. The answer for a funded startup is “Bid as much as possible, to get as many customers — and data!

Bootstrapping 285

Bootstrapping Affiliate Cofounder Channel 285

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2012

For example, with any outside investment, you give up some ownership and control, and with bootstrapping your growth curve will likely be longer and more organic. Following is my prioritized larger list of sources, with some “rules of thumb” which may save you a lot of time and energy: Bootstrapping. Commit to a major customer.

Technical Review 257

Technical Review Bootstrapping Venture Capital Incubator 257

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 24, 2015

By bootstrapping, bartering, reducing overheads (rental and manpower), and leveraging technology (especially the web), one can start one’s own business almost on a dime without being beholden to creditors or venture capitalists. c) Selling more to existing customers. In other words, we should give them “the fish”. 4 Compelling offer.

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Software Review South Carolina Startup 100

YoungUpstarts

JULY 21, 2019

You may be able to save on shipping costs, as well. For example, you can replace water coolers with a filtered water pitcher to save on cost. This is one of the best cost-saving ideas for small businesses. If you haven’t been able to save up for your capital, consider bootstrapping your business. Buy Used Furniture.

Software Review 191

Software Review Entrepreneur Cost Cofounder 191

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

The primary source of your funds should be your paying customers, i.e., your business should generate enough revenues and profits to fund the growth and expansion. Any custom manufactured IoT device would require software development as well as hardware customization. Bootstrapping. Royalty based investment. Seed stage.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 18, 2011

The cost of entry has never been lower. In the early days (20 years ago), most new e-commerce sites cost a million dollars to set up. The cost for the domain name is maybe $10/year, and the hosting starts around $50/year. This costs nothing, and allows you to safely collect money from customers all around the world.

Hosting 248

Hosting Bootstrapping .Net Social Network 248

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2016

Yet in this age when customers have a thousand alternatives, and are overwhelmed by a multitude of messages, sales efforts can make or break a business. In fact, I believe modern entrepreneurs need to be super sales people, in the most positive sense, to their team as well as customers. No pain usually means no sales.

Bootstrapping 120

Bootstrapping Sales Technical Review Social Media 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 10, 2013

The cost of entry has never been lower. In the early days (20 years ago), most new e-commerce sites cost a million dollars to set up. The cost for the domain name is maybe $10/year, and the hosting starts around $50/year. This costs nothing, and allows you to safely collect money from customers all around the world.

eCommerce 196

eCommerce Hosting Bootstrapping .Net 196

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

There is so much written these days about how to attract investors that most entrepreneurs “assume” they need funding, and don’t even consider a plan for “bootstrapping,” or self-financing their startup. Even in these cases, all other options should be explored first: Sales are strong – too strong. Need expensive resources up front.

Sweat Equity 239

Sweat Equity Technical Review Bootstrapping Equity 239

Gust

OCTOBER 26, 2014

When someone asks me for the best way to fund a startup, I always say bootstrap it, meaning fund it yourself and grow organically. Bootstrapping avoids all the cost, pain, and distractions of finding angels or VCs, and allows you to keep control and all your hard-earned equity for yourself. Do it yourself.

Bootstrapping 176

Bootstrapping Startup Merger Salary 176

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 29, 2016

When you are bootstrapping a small business, you are not only the boss, you are also the person that cleans, greets customers, makes sales and, depending on your business, provides the service offered. I’ll expand on that last bit along with other lessons I learned along the way: Lack of Energy.

Bootstrapping 189

Bootstrapping New York City New Jersey New York 189

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

External investors will demand a financial forecast, but it’s equally valuable to you, even if bootstrapping. There is no black magic involved in predicting the future, if you use these four simple steps, with my basic rules of thumb to keep you on the right track: Determine your margin on sales. Forecast sales-volume expectations.

Forecast 369

Forecast Burn Rate Startup Widget 369

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 21, 2012

Bootstrap, bootstrap, bootstrap. Moules points out that entrepreneurs need to think of their pricing strategy beyond it being the means of covering the costs of running a business. Moules is not (really) suggesting that the entrepreneur himself should totally delegate sales to someone else. His advice?

Technical Review 184

Technical Review Entrepreneur Bootstrapping Acquisition 184

YoungUpstarts

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

Bootstrap was term coined from the computer lingo ‘booting’ which means starting a computer or starting a chain of processes which eventually starts up the operating system. In the startup world, bootstrapping essentially means funding your own venture and not being too dependent on external sources. Spend Wisely. Experiment.

Bootstrapping 100

Bootstrapping Cofounder Startup Sales Cycle 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2011

For example, with any outside investment, you give up some ownership and control, and with bootstrapping your growth curve will likely be longer and more organic. Following is my prioritized larger list of sources, with some “rules of thumb” which may save you a lot of time and energy: Bootstrapping. Commit to a major customer.

Technical Review 233

Technical Review Bootstrapping Startup Venture Capital 233

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 25, 2023

In addition to providing customer care and assistance, a virtual assistant may also develop web pages or compose blog entries, administer email newsletters, carry out sales and marketing chores, generate sales leads, and conduct a variety of other jobs. Thanks to Carter Seuthe, Credit Summit ! #4-

Software Review 112

Software Review Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Entrepreneur 112

Hearpreneur

AUGUST 11, 2021

With their affordability, you can invest in several and gain more return by earning customer trust before a sale occurs. They’ve built more trust with their followers, so customers might be more willing and trusting when they check out your website after the micro-influencer recommends you. Photo Credit: Jeanine Duval.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Technical Review Social Media Bootstrapping 126

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 29, 2024

This isn’t just about having a eureka moment; it’s about understanding the problem you’re solving and why it matters to your potential customers. Then, consider how you’ll reach your customers and what kind of relationship you want to build with them.

Intellectual Property 130

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Business Model Bootstrapping 130

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 4, 2016

Starting a new business on a limited budget without investor involvement is called bootstrapping, and it’s the only way to go if you don’t want to spend months on the investment pitch preparation and delivery circuit. There are unwritten rules in every business, and your lack of insider’s knowledge will cost you dearly.

Bootstrapping 120

Bootstrapping Social Media Equity eCommerce 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2010

When someone asks me for the best way to fund a startup, I always say bootstrap it, meaning fund it yourself and grow organically. Bootstrapping avoids all the cost, pain, and distractions of finding angels or VCs, and allows you to keep control and all your hard-earned equity for yourself. Do it yourself. Marty Zwilling.

Bootstrapping 240

Bootstrapping Merger Salary .Net 240

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

There is so much written these days about how to attract investors that most entrepreneurs “assume” they need funding, and don’t even consider a plan for “bootstrapping,” or self-financing their startup. Even in these cases, all other options should be explored first: Sales are strong – too strong. Need expensive resources up front.

Sweat Equity 255

Sweat Equity Technical Review Entrepreneur Bootstrapping 255

Gust

APRIL 27, 2014

This will include the first version of many critical processes that can be split out later, including market opportunity, requirements, product definition, business model, sales process, and organization. Customer service and support. Here is another often overlooked area of process that kills many startups, both in cost and time.

Startup 187

Startup Institutional Investors Angel Investor Bootstrapping 187

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 13, 2014

All of the above costs can be completely avoided or drastically minimized by a bit of creative bootstrapping with minimal investment to launch courtesy of the world wide web. With Global eCommerce sales topping $1.25 Below is a list of the key components necessary to begin your business venture. The key is to stay connected!

eCommerce 229

eCommerce Bootstrapping Social Media Hosting 229

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 19, 2013

Castrina, author of “ 8 Unbreakable Rules For Business Start-Up Success “ If you’re bootstrapping your own business, you know all about doing more with less. If your goal is to cut costs at any cost, you’re heading into dangerous territory. Yet making those checks too skimpy can cost you big down the road.

Bootstrapping 209

Bootstrapping Employee Small Business Salary 209

Gust

JUNE 17, 2012

For example, with any outside investment, you give up some ownership and control, and with bootstrapping your growth curve will likely be longer and more organic. Following is my prioritized larger list of sources, with some “rules of thumb” which may save you a lot of time and energy: Bootstrapping. Commit to a major customer.

Technical Review 164

Technical Review Bootstrapping Venture Capital Incubator 164