Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. The combination of technical insight, founder authority, and sales experience is a hard-to-beat advantage in a competitive market. The rest can come from early hires (with stock options to assure commitment), equity investors, or even strategic partners.

Technical Cofounder 308

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 308

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. Hire experts, not help.

Bootstrapping 278

Bootstrapping Startup Merger Salary 278

ReadWriteStart

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

When starting a business, it’s typical to look for venture capital, angel investors, and even co-founders to help get the company up and running. Instead, knowing how to bootstrap your startup might be a better option. How to Bootstrap Your Startup. When launching a bootstrapped startup , you may need to get creative.

Bootstrapping 145

Bootstrapping Startup Cofounder Angel Investor 145

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

I had a recent email dialog with the founder of a company looking for a CTO for their startup. And I tried to evaluate the idea and figure out: What did the founder really need here? Was it a Startup Founder Developer Gap ? And do I fit as a Part-Time CTO , Technology Advisor , CTO Founder , Acting CTO ?

Technical Cofounder 241

Technical Cofounder CTO Hire Equity Sweat Equity 241

SoCal CTO

MARCH 12, 2012

- Make sure you go through the 32 Questions Developers May Have Forgot to Ask a Startup Founder. A great post by Elizabeth Knopf , FounderDating: How I Found My Co-Founder where she breaks down the process much like how you think about a sales process. Hire a Product Design Lead First Nailing that elusive technical co-founder

Technical Cofounder 211

Technical Cofounder Cofounder CTO Hire Los Angeles 211

VC Cafe

MAY 4, 2021

Spotify a cquired LA-based live audio app Locker Room and is reportedly on a hiring spree to launch their own social audio experience. 31 employees according to Linkedin, but seems to be bootstrapped. Capuccino – an audio social network launched in July 2020 by French founders. Bootstrapped. Open Source.

Audio 140

Audio Software Review Open Source Social Network 140

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2011

Finding that person is not a hiring challenge, since neither of you really get paid until you both succeed. Yet the smart entrepreneur can still bootstrap the technical team, using one or all of the following evaluation and hiring approaches: Hire an expert consultant for initial interviews and recommendation.

Technical Review 236

Technical Review Partner Entrepreneur Architecture 236

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. Hire experts, not help.

Bootstrapping 176

Bootstrapping Startup Merger Salary 176

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. Maybe that’s why bootstrapped startups are the norm, rather than externally funded ones. Need expensive resources up front.

Sweat Equity 239

Sweat Equity Technical Review Bootstrapping Equity 239

Up and Running

AUGUST 27, 2020

My co-founder Andrew and I built Canny , a SaaS tool to help businesses collect and manage customer feedback and build their product roadmap, from the ground up. Canny is 100% bootstrapped —we haven’t taken any outside funding. Here’s how we got started, and our lessons learned from growing a bootstrapped company. Takeaways: .

Founder 120

Founder Cofounder Bootstrapping Startup 120

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 29, 2016

by Rebecca Weible, founder of Yo Yoga! 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. ’ Rebecca Weible is the founder of Yo Yoga! Learning New Skills.

Bootstrapping 189

Bootstrapping New York City New Jersey New York 189

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2023

Even if you are bootstrapping your business, and you are the only investor, you should be asking yourself the same question. Too many founders have learned that passion and free beta products do not imply a sustainable business. Everyone must be part of the sales process.

Business Model 273

Business Model Customer Angel Investor Bootstrapping 273

View from Seed

JULY 7, 2015

I recently sat down with the remarkably thoughtful (and insanely scrappy) Patrick Campbell , co-founder and CEO of Price Intelligently. In the episode, you’ll hear about how we got hired in the first place and why we decided to leave. Startup Lessons You’ll Learn: What tradeoffs a bootstrapped startup’s CEO makes.

Bootstrapping 120

Bootstrapping Founder Boston Cofounder 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. Hire experts, not help.

Bootstrapping 240

Bootstrapping Merger Salary .Net 240

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 28, 2010

Do More Faster: TechStars Lessons to Accelerate Your Startup is the new book by David Cohen , founder and CEO of TechStars, and Brad Feld , managing director of Foundry Group. Below is his chapter, Avoid Co-Founder Conflict. A perennial favorite is to decide that each founder should own an equal share. You can set up a board.

Cofounder 128

Cofounder Founder Equity Dilution 128

Eric Friedman

FEBRUARY 7, 2023

We believe that we need more builders, more founders, and more shippers. To understand the time and energy spent, simply talk to any founder-level or staff engineer – they will share how they get into the flow state of coding, how they approach their days, and what great output looks like.

Engineer 78

Engineer United States Software Engineering Bootstrapping 78

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 9, 2019

The vast majority of startups fail because the founders that drive them fail to recognize the importance of critical factors such as accounting, cash flow management, and business structure. . In many cases, tech startups can’t afford the expense of hiring a full-time accounting staff member. Establish Financial Goals.

Technical Review 81

Technical Review Bootstrapping Startup Finance 81

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. Maybe that’s why bootstrapped startups are the norm, rather than externally funded ones. Need expensive resources up front.

Sweat Equity 255

Sweat Equity Technical Review Entrepreneur Bootstrapping 255

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 11, 2011

by Oliver Wilkinson , founder of SSL247 and co-founder of jobiso.fr. If you can’t, you either won’t sell, or will need to hire someone to write for you. Master the art of bootstrapping: aim to “bootstrap” first. If you can write good copy, you can sell anything online. So… go and start something!

Entrepreneur 221

Entrepreneur Bootstrapping Cofounder SMS 221

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. The combination of technical insight, founder authority, and sales experience is a hard-to-beat advantage in a competitive market. The rest can come from early hires (with stock options to assure commitment), equity investors, or even strategic partners.

Technical Cofounder 144

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 144

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2014

A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. The combination of technical insight, founder authority, and sales experience is a hard-to-beat advantage in a competitive market. The rest can come from early hires (with stock options to assure commitment), equity investors, or even strategic partners.

Technical Cofounder 245

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 245

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2021

Even if you are bootstrapping your business, and you are the only investor, you should be asking yourself the same question. Too many founders have learned that passion and free beta products do not imply a sustainable business. Everyone must be part of the sales process.

Business Model 414

Business Model Angel Investor Bootstrapping Revenue 414

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2023

The number one reason seems to be that the founders just walk away. If you can’t bootstrap the venture yourself, find a partner, friend or family member, rather than a professional investor to carry some financial weight. So you made some bad hiring or partner decisions. So why do most startups fail?

Bootstrapping 339

Bootstrapping Business Model Social Media Partner 339

Austin Startup

MAY 15, 2019

And we did it by bootstrapping our company. While it’s not possible for every company to bootstrap, I want to emphasize that just because a VC says no, that doesn’t mean you aren’t going to be successful. raise capital, hire talent and build out from there. Investment, at any point, is like rocket fuel. We are ramping up.

Bootstrapping 48

Bootstrapping Silicon Valley Venture Capital Austin 48

YoungUpstarts

JULY 21, 2019

If you and your co-founder(s) are friends, why not work on your home instead? If you haven’t been able to save up for your capital, consider bootstrapping your business. The best way to avoid this is by covering all your legal bases by hiring an attorney. Hire a professional. Get an executive suite or coworking space.

Software Review 191

Software Review Entrepreneur Cost Cofounder 191

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2016

Ron Conway , of SV Angels, and Reid Hoffman , LinkedIn's founder, are names often mentioned in this category. Startup founders typically invest some real dollars into their new startup as well as months or years of their time with no salary. Deep-dive meeting. Although the term may sound negative, it’s actually a very positive sign.

Software Review 120

Software Review Sweat Equity Accredited Investor Angel Investor 120

K9 Ventures

SEPTEMBER 24, 2009

In the past few days there has been a lot of discussion on the topic of a Founders Visa. The credit for starting this fire goes to Paul Graham from Y Combinator , who wrote a great essay titled The Founders Visa in April 2009. As an immigrant founder, this is a topic that I can relate to and care about.

United States 114

United States Founder India Venture Capital 114

Up and Running

AUGUST 11, 2015

How ironic that it seems like more than 90 percent of the online information on startups is about getting financed—but more than 90 percent of startups are bootstrapped. What does bootstrapping mean? ” See Also Should I Borrow Money, Seek Investment, or Bootstrap My Business? The bootstrapping founder takes all the risk.

Bootstrapping 60

Bootstrapping Startup Angel Investor Small Business Administration 60

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. What is a startup? Seek help from a mentor or advisor.

Bootstrapping 85

Bootstrapping Global Startup Hungary 85

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

blog.captainrecruiter.com

MARCH 8, 2012

Technical Co-Founders Are A Myth. Two years ago I got the bug to do an online recruiting startup and I began the hunt to find a technical co-founder - a software engineer who works for no cash - to help me build my dream website. I learned something: technical co-founders are a myth. Captain Recruiter. Real Advice. No Nonsense.

Cofounder 40

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Founder Software Engineering 40

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. The combination of technical insight, founder authority, and sales experience is a hard-to-beat advantage in a competitive market. The rest can come from early hires (with stock options to assure commitment), equity investors, or even strategic partners.

Technical Cofounder 120

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 120

The Next Web

AUGUST 26, 2013

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Christian Reber, CEO and co-founder of Berlin-based 6Wunderkinder. Today, in steps 10-12 I want to discuss with you raising your first round of money, hiring to develop and maintain your company culture, as well as defining your role in the management of your startup. 60-70% for founders.

Management 120

Management Cofounder Startup Bootstrapping 120

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. Now, I’m adamant about hiring a third-party bookkeeper who reports to me directly. He is also founder of newbizcoach.org.

Bootstrapping 209

Bootstrapping Employee Small Business Salary 209

viniciusvacanti.com

SEPTEMBER 7, 2010

Home About Contact Me How To Make It as a First-Time Entrepreneur Vinicius Vacanti Guide to Finding a Technical Co-Founder September 7, 2010 | View Comments Steve Job's Technical Co-Founder “I’ve got this HUGE idea. I just need to find a technical co-founder.&# I was in this situation and we barely escaped.

Cofounder 43

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Founder Ruby 43

Austin Startup

SEPTEMBER 29, 2018

I usually don’t back a business unless there are founders that can build, sell, and service the new solution that is being brought to market. In this case, they could build and service it but they needed a third co-founder to sell it. Read my Lucky7 Bootstrap or VC? I initially played the role of CEO and VP of Sales.

Bootstrapping 52

Bootstrapping IPO Business Model Software Review 52

View from Seed

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

One of the biggest rookie mistakes I see among founders pursuing seed rounds is that they’ve spent too much time building something vs. proving something. Increasingly, seed rounds occur after some sort of pre-seed or at least some period of bootstrapping. I have a related framework that company milestones fall into two buckets.

Seed Stage 180

Seed Stage Bootstrapping Demand Early Stage 180