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

JULY 1, 2017

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.

Product Development 177

Product Development Cost Developer Product 177

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. After bootstrapping, friends and family are the most common funding sources for early-stage startups.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

Determine if there is a viable market. Take the time to conduct market research and identify your target customers. Ensure you understand the competitive landscape, barriers to entry, projected market growth, and what you can realistically achieve. Track finances early. How large is the available market?

Forecast 154

Forecast Software Review Bootstrapping Finance 154

YoungUpstarts

JULY 6, 2017

Once you learn about all of your financing options, you could choose the one best suited to help your business grow. Some business owners decide to self-finance their startup rather than seek out investors. Bootstrapping has a number of advantages compared to other fundraising strategies. Understand the Tax Code.

Syndicate 127

Syndicate Syndication Software Review Angel Investor 127

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. The next reason is to establish a competitive advantage over your competition and quickly acquire a substantial market share. Bootstrapping. Sources of funding. ?

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Tim Keane

MARCH 9, 2011

How should I finance my new venture? It’s a deceptively simple question:  what is the optimal way to finance a new startup? Misaligned interests that lead to poor financing choices are often very problematic for first time entrepreneurs in young companies.  Can you bootstrap your way to positive cash flow?

Finance 83

Finance Bootstrapping Startup Equity 83

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. After bootstrapping, friends and family are the most common funding sources for early-stage startups.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 120

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 9, 2019

Tech startups are, in contrast, focused on rapid growth, potential, and top-end revenue. Goal setting is essential to the success of any business, and is critical to the growth of a tech startup in the bootstrapping stage. Separate Personal and Business Finances. Stay Ahead of the Payments Curve .

Technical Review 80

Technical Review Bootstrapping Startup Finance 80

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 29, 2024

Take the time to research your market, identify your target audience, and refine your idea until it’s both good and compelling. Market Research and Analysis With your core idea in hand, diving into market research is your next step. Revenue streams are another critical component of your business model.

Intellectual Property 130

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Business Model Bootstrapping 130

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

JUNE 20, 2011

I recently helped a friend broker the sale of his small, bootstrapped company. They’ve heard rules of thumb like “A growing software company is worth 5 times their trailing 12-months revenue.&# Even narrowing the field as much as feasible, revenue multiples varied between 1.2x Profit multiples varied even more.

Sales 260

Sales Channel Cofounder Valuation 260

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2022

The Critical 90 Days From Idea To Market ,” on the first steps that determine long-term success. Duffy emphasizes the often overlooked personal side of entrepreneurship, including balancing finances, relationships, and your health. Then take your revenue projections and cut them in half. Moderate your optimism.

Early Stage 307

Early Stage Bootstrapping Revenue Framework 307

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. Investors love entrepreneurs who come across as constantly on the lookout for new ideas, and able to grasp the larger implications for market change.

Intellectual Property 352

Intellectual Property Equity Bootstrapping Valuation 352

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

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 16, 2016

It was a way for us to stay creative and it also brought in some revenue. The capital earned in the agency was used to bootstrap the progression of the key business we wanted to launch. I always encourage entrepreneurs to get creative with sourcing finance. When you are bootstrapping cash flow is king. The Hustle.

Greece 100

Greece United Kingdom Ukraine Philippines 100

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 16, 2011

For the uninitiated, Zoho introduced a CRM system that was one-tenth the price of Salesforce.com and penetrated the lower end of the market using an Indian cost structure. Zendesk is heavily financed by Benchmark and Charles River and has 10,000 customers. RightNow's per agent price starts at $110 per agent per month.

India 123

India Bootstrapping Non-Compete Entrepreneur 123

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 29, 2020

In other words, you must start bootstrapping an online startup , because the future of the global business world is online. Before we look at ways to bootstrap a startup, let’s consider a comprehensive definition of what a startup is. Ways to bootstrap a startup. Thus, you must manage your available finances wisely.

Bootstrapping 85

Bootstrapping Global Startup Hungary 85

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 10, 2010

Whether it is in the emerging markets or in the U.S., They already have several customers including some telcos, and are at about $350,000 in revenues. I call it drip-financing. In 1M/1M, our preferred financing strategy is customers. Because customer financing equals revenue, not equity. Kir Devries.

Cloud 115

Cloud Silicon Valley Incubator Finance 115

www.readwriteweb.com

OCTOBER 7, 2007

This is typically called “bootstrapping&# and it is fraught with potential pitfalls and dangers. What is bootstrapping? So, what does it mean to bootstrap a company? Bootstrapping involves launching a business on a low budget. Why bootstrap? Either way, bootstrapping is a viable model.

Bootstrapping 41

Bootstrapping Offshore Startup EC2 41

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 27, 2014

This was a company that had successfully bootstrapped itself to real revenues, employees and cashflow and I thought it deserved the structure of a going concern, not a flier. Treat financings like an auction and you''re going to get a bubble and a lot of bad behavior. It will certainly involve market pricing.

Term Sheet 143

Term Sheet Founder Cofounder Software Review 143

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2019

The Critical 90 Days From Idea To Market ,” on the first steps that determine long-term success. Duffy emphasizes the often overlooked personal side of entrepreneurship, including balancing finances, relationships, and your health. Then take your revenue projections and cut them in half. Moderate your optimism.

Early Stage 317

Early Stage Bootstrapping Revenue Framework 317

ReadWriteStart

NOVEMBER 3, 2011

In How To Defend Your Dream Against All Odds , Alex and I explore the company's journey to $200 Million in revenue, while their VCs wrote them off. Zoho is already over $100 million in revenue and is seeing tremendous traction. Having turned down all overtures for investment, Zoho continues merrily on in its bootstrapping path.

North Carolina 116

North Carolina San Diego Entrepreneur Balance Sheet 116

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). In the interim, there is no market for the shares, and no dividends or interest. Insist on paying market rates for commercial loans, since the IRS can instigate some nasty consequences on “gifts.”

Management 308

Management Cram Down Angel Investor Equity 308

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 7, 2010

Sub-$2 million pre-money, it is better to bootstrap. That is debt financing that converts into equity at the Series A valuation once the price for that is set. (I First up was Siobhan O'Brien with OnTrack Imaging , a medical diagnostic imaging venture catering to the horse owners and trainers market.

Valuation 119

Valuation Silicon Valley Pre-Money Valuation Bootstrapping 119

ReadWriteStart

DECEMBER 2, 2010

Well, 1M/1M is focused on helping businesses generate $1M in annual revenue, whatever be the nature of the business. But our goal is to make sure that these businesses are sustainable, have customers, revenues, and profits. million financing round for. Marketing Green Products and Services to Indian Consumers.

India 116

India Green Silicon Valley Massachusetts 116

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. The quality bar has never been higher.

Bootstrapping 63

Bootstrapping Cap Table Liquidation Preference Cofounder 63

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)? Underaddressed market.

Revenue 60

Revenue SBIC Cofounder Venture Capital 60

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

First up was Brad Barrett presenting GrillGrate , a grill accessory with which Brad has built a year-to-date revenue of $400,000. I will work with him on his inventory financing strategy. Now, the Web self-service software market is very crowded with major players like RightNow already deeply entrenched. GrillGrate. Discuss.

India 114

India Silicon Valley Incubator Bootstrapping 114

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 27, 2011

For a more elaborate explanation of the deal, please read my blog post 1M/1M: Alternative Financing For Startups Using A Sales Channel Partner. I have discussed at length why revenue sharing channel deals may serve as perfectly fine alternatives to raising equity (or even complements) because of their non-dilutive nature. Safarclick.

Dilution 114

Dilution Revenue Finance Entrepreneur 114

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2015

I challenge any entrepreneur, for example, to define the difference between "seed-stage" and "early-stage" financing. Asking for early-stage money before you have customers and revenue will likely kill your credibility with real investors. Yet, knowing this distinction is important.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Finance Early Stage Startup 120

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 6, 2011

Sramana Mitra is the founder of the One Million by One Million (1M/1M) initiative, an educational, business development and incubation program that aims to help one million entrepreneurs globally to reach $1 million in revenue and beyond. This, of course, doesn't mean that we discourage entrepreneurs from seeking financing.

Silicon Valley 118

Silicon Valley India San Francisco Entrepreneur 118

Austin Startup

JUNE 26, 2019

While the journey of JuiceBox Hero is coming to a close, we know that our small but mighty team’s commitment to innovation for women, families, and under-represented markets is far from over. The Skinny: Two years ago I embarked on a mission to bring to market a modern way for parents to find daycares and preschools. We did that?—?and

Silicon Valley 54

Silicon Valley Startup B2C Sweat Equity 54

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2011

The important lesson in order to gain market share was that in order for new users to try Microsoft Excel, they had to be able to work with the files their coworkers were creating. It was the first internet company to lose money on its first day on the public markets. Marketing materials. What did you learn at Juno?

Software Review 285

Software Review Software St. Louis API 285

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

Sequoia has financed them. I pointed Zubair to a couple of case studies of bootstrapping using services to get more of his core product built; in parallel, I will help him pursue institutional funding. Appirio is one such company that jumped on this trend way back in 2007 and has now built a significant company in that space.

Cloud 117

Cloud Fractional CTO Entrepreneur Bandwidth 117

Up and Running

JULY 28, 2020

Simply put, alternative funding is gaining financing for your company outside of traditional bank loans to gain capital. To help you find the best funding to fit your needs, read on for the top 8 alternative financing options. Bootstrapping. What is alternative funding? Traditional loans. Crowdfunding.

Small Business 118

Small Business SBA Bootstrapping Venture Capital 118

Rob Go

DECEMBER 28, 2011

Perhaps it’s been missed by most, but I think it was a remarkable year for this sector within this market. And that’s true pretty much across the board – from exits, late stage financings, scaling companies, and seed activity. market cap. 61M in Q3 revenue, up 28% YoY. Carbonite: Raised $62.5M

Technical Review 54

Technical Review Boston Software Review IPO 54