Austin Startup

NOVEMBER 25, 2018

Although bootstrapping is still an approach in Austin, a lot has changed since I wrote my original challenge to the Bootstrap Austin group back in 2005. Bootstrap Austin, started by Bijoy Goswami. The original Bootstrap Austin was truly special and Bijoy did an amazing job bringing together some terrific entrepreneurs.

Bootstrapping 48

Bootstrapping Austin Equity Cofounder 48

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. Yet, I find that startup founders often fixate on one or two sources, often to the detriment of their business. Bartering services for equity. Friends and family.

Technical Review 257

Technical Review Bootstrapping Venture Capital Incubator 257

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. Reinvest gross profit. Marty Zwilling.

Bootstrapping 278

Bootstrapping Startup Merger Salary 278

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2023

Yet every business requires revenue and volumes, as certainly as it requires a product to sell. External investors will demand a financial forecast, but it’s equally valuable to you, even if bootstrapping. Doubling revenue each year is a good target. Be willing to give up 20 to 33 percent of your equity to support this.

Forecast 290

Forecast Burn Rate Widget Business Plan 290

YoungUpstarts

JULY 6, 2017

by Brad Mishlove, CEO and founder of Catapult Groups. ANGEL INVESTOR : These are individuals who offer capital to startups in exchange for equity, partial ownership or convertible debt. Angel investors generally offer favorable terms to the startups they work with since they believe in the potential of its founders.

Syndicate 127

Syndicate Syndication Software Review Angel Investor 127

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 8, 2014

The real work actually comes when you want to turn that idea into something that not only benefits customers, but also brings in revenue. Some startup founders turn to accelerators or angel investors for guidance and financial backing, but with this comes the sacrifice of independence and equity. Budget is King.

Bootstrapping 167

Bootstrapping Colombia Founder Bankruptcy 167

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. Yet, I find that startup founders often fixate on one or two sources, often to the detriment of their business. Bartering services for equity. Friends and family.

Technical Review 233

Technical Review Bootstrapping Startup Venture Capital 233

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

When you accept outside money, particularly a private equity (PE) investment, however, that changes. In this article, I’ll provide some personal stories of how investors have navigated the balance between raising private equity capital and not losing control of their startup. Rule 1: Bootstrap until you have a viable product.

Private Equity 94

Private Equity Pre-Money Valuation Equity Startup 94

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 14, 2016

by Keith Smith, co-founder and CEO of Payability. Sure, VC cash can boost your business to new heights, but it also reduces your equity in the company, forces you to focus on company valuation, and provides a false sense of financial security. Let’s not forget the bootstrapping option. Get a loan. Go it alone.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Securities and Exchange Commission New York City Cofounder 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 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. Even a small investor in the early days will take a large equity percentage, due to that pesky valuation challenge. Marty Zwilling.

Bootstrapping 276

Bootstrapping Entrepreneur Startup Burn Rate 276

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

Unfortunately, most of us don’t have enough resources to bootstrap our own startups, so we are completely dependent on investors to help turn great ideas into great businesses. As you may have seen on the Shark Tank TV show, offering a tiny equity amount for a large investment will not endear you to investors.

Intellectual Property 352

Intellectual Property Equity Bootstrapping Valuation 352

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2013

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. Reinvest gross profit. Marty Zwilling.

Equity 241

Equity Bootstrapping Startup Merger 241

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. Yet, I find that startup founders often fixate on one or two sources, often to the detriment of their business. Bartering services for equity. Friends and family.

Technical Review 164

Technical Review Bootstrapping Venture Capital Incubator 164

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

Yet every business requires revenue and volumes, as certainly as it requires a product to sell. External investors will demand a financial forecast, but it’s equally valuable to you, even if bootstrapping. Doubling revenue each year is a good target. Be willing to give up 20 to 33 percent of your equity to support this.

Forecast 369

Forecast Burn Rate Startup Widget 369

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. Reinvest gross profit.

Bootstrapping 176

Bootstrapping Startup Merger Salary 176

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

JUNE 20, 2011

I recently helped a friend broker the sale of his small, bootstrapped company. As you’d suspect, I was similarly ignorant of such things while watching the sale of ITWatchDogs (where I was a co-founder), and still harbored misconceptions as I went into the sale of Smart Bear. Many people start by looking at “the Multiples.&#

Sales 260

Sales Channel Cofounder Valuation 260

Duct Tape Marketing

AUGUST 23, 2023

He is the co-founder of Boast.ai, where he leveraged the Community-Led Growth model to bootstrap the company. He is also the co-founder of Traction, a community empowering over 100k innovators through connections, content, and capital. He is the co-founder of Boast.ai Then another time was when we were bootstrapping both.

Community 53

Community Kuwait Cofounder Bootstrapping 53

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2015

That’s why I recommend that they find a co-founder who loves business challenges, including marketing and finance. Thus it’s a waste of time for most entrepreneurs to be looking for investors until they have a product and some customer revenue. Most founders bootstrap product development.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Intellectual Property Cofounder Bootstrapping 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2020

The only way an entrepreneur can really dodge this issue is to totally fund the startup with personal funds (bootstrapping). Tie payments to your product or service revenue. Loans are a safer option than equity. Some founders are too focused on quick repayment, and they compromise strategic decisions.

Management 308

Management Cram Down Angel Investor Equity 308

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. Reinvest gross profit. Marty Zwilling.

Bootstrapping 240

Bootstrapping Merger Salary .Net 240

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 1, 2010

For example, with any outside investment, you give up some ownership and control, and with bootstrapping you growth curve will likely be longer and more organic. Yet, I find that startup founders often fixate on one or two sources, often to the detriment of their business. Bartering services for equity. Friends and family.

Technical Review 149

Technical Review Bootstrapping Startup Venture Capital 149

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 10, 2014

The only way an entrepreneur can really dodge this issue is to totally fund the startup with personal funds (bootstrapping). Tie payments to your product or service revenue. Loans are a safer option than equity. Some founders are too focused on quick repayment, and they compromise strategic decisions.

Founder 254

Founder Cram Down Angel Investor Equity 254

Austin Startup

JUNE 26, 2019

Many people have reached out sharing knowing and kind words about our journey and choice to wind down our venture, as well as their appreciation for my choice to pull back the curtain on what is statistically a common road for many founders. It details a landscape founders like me are excited to sink their teeth into? Of course not!

Silicon Valley 54

Silicon Valley Startup B2C Sweat Equity 54

David Teten

AUGUST 20, 2019

I’ve been a traditional equity VC for 8 years, and I’m now researching Revenue-Based Investing and other new approaches to VC. The question I’m asking myself: should a new VC fund use Revenue-Based Investing, traditional equity VC, or possibly both (likely from two separate pools of capital)?

Revenue 60

Revenue SBIC Cofounder Venture Capital 60

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. Even a small investor in the early days will take a large equity percentage, due to that pesky valuation challenge.

Bootstrapping 191

Bootstrapping Entrepreneur Startup Burn Rate 191

www.readwriteweb.com

OCTOBER 7, 2007

This is typically called “bootstrapping&# and it is fraught with potential pitfalls and dangers. But when done well it can really help get a company going fast, professionally and without the founders having to give up much (if any) equity - or bankrupting themselves. What is bootstrapping? Why bootstrap?

Bootstrapping 41

Bootstrapping Offshore Startup EC2 41

Spencer Fry

APRIL 17, 2017

Days before the conference started, I was asked (and felt honored) to lead two workshops on bootstrapping vs. raising money. Having started and sold 3 successful bootstrapped businesses, and am now running 1 venture capital backed business ( Coach ), this is a topic I know a thing or two about. What's “good” about bootstrapping.

Bootstrapping 63

Bootstrapping Cap Table Liquidation Preference Cofounder 63

Life Beyond Code

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

One Million by One Million is a global initiative that aims to nurture a million entrepreneurs reach a million dollars each in annual revenue and beyond by 2020, thereby creating a trillion dollars in global GDP and ten million jobs. 1M/1M Program has a bold mission. This is where numerous ventures fail.

Programming 116

Programming Silicon Valley Bootstrapping Technical Review 116

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). Bootstrapping: This term describes your ability to start a business with little investment and grow it using internally generated funds.

Private Equity 118

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 118

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 13, 2019

The first one relates to the most important investor…you, the founder(s)! Bootstrap if you can, for as long as you can As a startup you’ll likely fail. At this point, we had already developed the first phase of the platform by bootstrapping. We got back on our feet and successfully pivoted the business.

Strategic Investors 49

Strategic Investors Austin Angel Investor Bootstrapping 49

ReadWriteStart

JULY 18, 2011

Clavier began his presentation at the beginning of a company's lifecycle, asking how many co-founders a startup ought to have. If you like this kind of advice, check out my coverage of a talk by Paul Palmieri, Co-Founder and CEO of mobile advertising service Millennial Media, titled " Investing in Your Influencers. ".

Investment Bankers 153

Investment Bankers Technical Review Cofounder Due Diligence 153

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. The need to hire staff immediately. A desire to roll out on a massive scale.

Bootstrapping 120

Bootstrapping Cofounder Equity Agile 120

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 12, 2019

Tempted by large sums of money and the perceived validation that comes along with being funded, founders turn to venture capitalists to accelerate their company’s growth. Founders don’t have that luxury — for founders like me, the consequences of failure are more dire. This is why I made the decision to bootstrap HighRadius.

Early Stage 98

Early Stage Venture Capital Bootstrapping Pre-Money Valuation 98

Software By Rob

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

This morning Seth Godin published a post titled Debt, equity and a third thing that might work better. Here’s the deal: I work in the bootstrapped startup world and in this arena you don’t need $500k to build a product. But who needs revenue?) Once you have a viable product and some revenue, you’re in control.

Equity 42

Equity Software Review RSS Widget 42

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 9, 2018

The only way an entrepreneur can really dodge this issue is to totally fund the startup with personal funds (bootstrapping). Tie payments to your product or service revenue. Loans are a safer option than equity. Some founders are too focused on quick repayment, and they compromise strategic decisions.

Cram Down 148

Cram Down Angel Investor Equity Dividend 148

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 14, 2014

by Catherine Hoke, founder and CEO of Defy Ventures. The now successful CEO and founder of Brown Butter New York, a company that produces high-end cooking butter, was once a court-described “menace to society” whose life was overrun by drugs, gang-related assault, and armed robbery. Bootstrap your business.

Bootstrapping 249

Bootstrapping Startup Seed Money New York 249

The Next Web

AUGUST 14, 2013

This is a guest post by Wade Foster , co-founder and CEO of Zapier, which originally appeared on his blog. But since I’m relatively fresh off of the experience I get asked by first-time founders how they should go about raising money for their startup. Usually those aren’t first-time founders though.

Founder 142

Founder Incubator Cofounder Accredited Investor 142