Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

I recently found the classic sales training book “ Bootstrap Selling The Sandler Way ,” by Bill Morrison, who has 20 years in sales leadership roles, and I was amazed at how many of his sales lessons are great lessons for new entrepreneurs as well. Push marketing doesn’t work well today, in the age of interactive networking and peer reviews.

Sales 348

Sales Startup Bootstrapping Technical Review 348

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2023

It’s more possible to bootstrap today than a few years ago, as the cost of entry continues to go down. It’s equally easy to go online and incorporate your new entity, register some intellectual property and have some fun with social media for marketing and interacting with customers.

Equity 349

Equity Hockey Stick Bootstrapping Sweat Equity 349

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2019

Self-funding or bootstrapping is still the most common and safest approach for startups Keep your day job until revenue starts to flow. After bootstrapping, friends and family are the most common funding sources for early-stage startups. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Set expectations accordingly.

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

Tiny bootstrapped teams usually don’t have a business plan, and probably don’t need one. There is no substitute for knowing your customers first hand, and iterating on a minimum viable product to find the most marketable solution. They can iterate and evolve their business idea with a low burn rate and minimal dependencies.

Business Plan 316

Business Plan Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence 316

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2020

It’s more possible to bootstrap today than a few years ago, as the cost of entry continues to go down. It’s equally easy to go online and incorporate your new entity, register some intellectual property and have some fun with social media for marketing and interacting with customers.

Hockey Stick 423

Hockey Stick Bootstrapping Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 423

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

The combination of technical insight, founder authority, and sales experience is a hard-to-beat advantage in a competitive market. It’s time to think about licensing what you have to an existing company already in business, and give up developing and marketing it yourself. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk.

Technical Cofounder 308

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 308

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 6, 2016

It’s more possible to bootstrap today than a few years ago, as the cost of entry continues to go down. It’s equally easy to go online and incorporate your new entity, register some intellectual property and have some fun with social media for marketing and interacting with customers.

Bootstrapping 120

Bootstrapping Hockey Stick Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

Self-funding or bootstrapping is still the most common and safest approach for startups Keep your day job until revenue starts to flow. After bootstrapping, friends and family are the most common funding sources for early-stage startups. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Set expectations accordingly.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 283

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2017

Self-funding or bootstrapping is still the most common and safest approach for startups Keep your day job until revenue starts to flow. After bootstrapping, friends and family are the most common funding sources for early-stage startups. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Set expectations accordingly.

Product Development 177

Product Development Cost Developer Product 177

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. Creative marketing. Marty Zwilling.

Bootstrapping 240

Bootstrapping Merger Salary .Net 240

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 8, 2016

They don’t realize that according to statistics , more than 90 percent of satisfied entrepreneurs use bootstrapping, since other people’s money always comes with strings, most of them negative. Bootstrapping gives you the flexibility to explore creative alternatives. You left your corporate job to get away from budgets.

Bootstrapping 120

Bootstrapping Advisory Board Startup Venture Capital 120

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2013

Self-funding or bootstrapping is still the most common and safest approach for startups Keep your day job until revenue starts to flow. After bootstrapping, friends and family are the most common funding sources for early-stage startups. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Set expectations accordingly.

Intellectual Property 309

Intellectual Property Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 309

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

Self-funding or bootstrapping is still the most common and safest approach for startups Keep your day job until real revenue flows. After bootstrapping, friends and family are the most common funding sources for early-stage startups. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Solicit funds from friends and family.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

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. I’m convinced this also reduces risk.

Bootstrapping 120

Bootstrapping Social Media Equity eCommerce 120

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. Here are some basic principles from my own experience that will improve your odds and keep you on the right track: Recognize that you are not the market. Marketing is everything these days.

Business Model 273

Business Model Customer Angel Investor Bootstrapping 273

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2014

Now the real work begins – promotion, marketing, blogging, and all types of search engine marketing. You can’t get it all right the first time, and the market will be gone if you try to include every feature in the first version. Publish the site and now you are in business. Life is more fun that way.

Startup 252

Startup eCommerce Hosting Bootstrapping 252

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2019

In my role as a small business consultant and mentor to many entrepreneurs, I recommend the following key considerations for the best strategy to pursue for outside funding, if you choose not to fund the business yourself: Consumer products and trends need market validation. Crowdfunding is not the best platform here.

Non-disclosure Agreement 299

Non-disclosure Agreement Angel Investor Bootstrapping SEC 299

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2023

External investors will demand a financial forecast, but it’s equally valuable to you, even if bootstrapping. Project based on your market size how many widgets you will sell in every channel. Thus, financial projections for up to five years are a necessary element in every business plan. Forecast sales-volume expectations.

Forecast 290

Forecast Burn Rate Widget Business Plan 290

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2023

Yet if you already have some early adopters, that's a good indication that real marketing and education will likely bring your product or service mass acceptance. 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.

Bootstrapping 339

Bootstrapping Business Model Social Media Partner 339

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2023

Companies at this stage must have a large market, good traction, and be focused on scaling infrastructure and market adoption. Obviously, if you bootstrap your business, you can avoid all the investment implications, but you still need a business plan and professional support. Growth and exit stage.

Incubator 305

Incubator Startup Exit Strategy Institutional Investors 305

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2015

Self-funding or bootstrapping is still the most common and safest approach for startups Keep your day job until real revenue flows. After bootstrapping, friends and family are the most common funding sources for early-stage startups. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Solicit funds from friends and family.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 120

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. Here are some basic principles from my own experience that will improve your odds and keep you on the right track: Recognize that you are not the market. Marketing is everything these days.

Business Model 414

Business Model Angel Investor Bootstrapping Revenue 414

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 18, 2011

Now the real work begins – promotion, marketing, blogging, and all types of search engine marketing. You can’t get it all right the first time, and the market will be gone if you try to include every feature in the first version. Publish the site and now you are in business. Life is more fun that way.

Hosting 248

Hosting Bootstrapping .Net Social Network 248

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 10, 2013

Now the real work begins – promotion, marketing, blogging, and all types of search engine marketing. You can’t get it all right the first time, and the market will be gone if you try to include every feature in the first version. Publish the site and now you are in business. Life is more fun that way.

eCommerce 196

eCommerce Hosting Bootstrapping .Net 196

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2023

For example, if you have a proven product, real revenue, a big potential market, and are ready to scale up the business, every investor will be interested. Investors call this the seed stage , where money is required to build a market and a real product. The final product works great, and all the early users love it.”

Angel Investor 313

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 313

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2023

By far, the majority of new businesses I know are self-funding (bootstrapped) from your own savings and prior assets. Pick a name, location, and marketing strategy early. Set milestones and targets for revenue, profitability, and market share, and use these to manage the business, as opposed to hours worked and gut instinct.

Intellectual Property 245

Intellectual Property Social Media Angel Investor Metrics 245

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

The combination of technical insight, founder authority, and sales experience is a hard-to-beat advantage in a competitive market. It’s time to think about licensing what you have to an existing company already in business, and give up developing and marketing it yourself. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk.

Technical Cofounder 144

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 144

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2023

Many first-time entrepreneurs find themselves unable to bootstrap their startups, and also unable to find early funding at the venture capital level or even with angel investors. Use the minimum viable product concept to get revenue early, and allow market and product pivots at minimal cost.

Sweat Equity 274

Sweat Equity Elevator Pitch Startup Equity 274

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2017

Don’t assume anything until you have done market research and listened to real customers. Successful entrepreneurs are more likely to bootstrap their own business, and use the discipline of personally validating and approving every check. In today’s world, the market evolves even faster than the technology.

Bootstrapping 120

Bootstrapping Metrics Technical Review Entrepreneur 120

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2020

Companies at this stage must have a large market, good traction, and be focused on scaling infrastructure and market adoption. Obviously, if you bootstrap your business, you can avoid all the investment implications, but you still need a business plan and professional support. Growth and exit stage.

Incubator 429

Incubator Startup Exit Strategy Institutional Investors 429

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2014

The combination of technical insight, founder authority, and sales experience is a hard-to-beat advantage in a competitive market. It’s time to think about licensing what you have to an existing company already in business, and give up developing and marketing it yourself. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk.

Technical Cofounder 245

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 245

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. Most founders bootstrap product development. Business people know how to downplay the technology and market the value of the solution. Marketing is a necessary evil to mask poor technology.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Intellectual Property Cofounder Bootstrapping 120

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2014

Tiny bootstrapped teams usually don’t have a business plan, and probably don’t need one. There is no substitute for knowing your customers first hand, and iterating on a minimum viable product to find the most marketable solution. They can iterate and evolve their business idea with a low burn rate and minimal dependencies.

Business Plan 274

Business Plan Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence 274

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

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

Now the real work begins – promotion, marketing, blogging, and all types of search engine marketing. You can’t get it all right the first time, and the market will be gone if you try to include every feature in the first version. Publish the site and now you are in business. Life is more fun that way.

Cost 220

Cost Startup Hosting Bootstrapping 220

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

External investors will demand a financial forecast, but it’s equally valuable to you, even if bootstrapping. Project based on your market size how many widgets you will sell in every channel. Thus, financial projections for up to five years are a necessary element in every business plan. Forecast sales-volume expectations.

Forecast 369

Forecast Burn Rate Startup Widget 369

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2020

I’m not talking about just making incremental improvements in their products and processes, but more fundamental changes to the business model, such as the following: Announce a new market launch that fits your core competency. You didn’t wait until a new market was totally proven before entering. Remember when you were a startup?

Customer 359

Customer Institutional Investors Channel Acquisition 359