YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 24, 2017

Subscription business brings recurring revenue. This allows you to enjoy a constant source of incoming revenue, as long as you’re keeping the subscribers satisfied (that is of course essential). Through customer acquisition, you’ll work to grow the revenue and then, use that revenue to cover operational costs.

Churn Rate 149

Churn Rate eCommerce Business Model Bootstrapping 149

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

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. On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue).

Angel Investor 313

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 313

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. ” Easy for them to say, but what about a bootstrapped, profit-driven business? ” Here’s my way.

Bootstrapping 285

Bootstrapping Affiliate Cofounder Channel 285

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

Of course, if you are able to bootstrap your startup, and don’t anticipate the need for outside investors, you can technically ignore the first two points. If you can convince investors that your startup will generate a solid revenue stream, and the market won’t go away any time soon, they may see an opportunity for an ever larger return.

Exit Strategy 289

Exit Strategy Entrepreneur IPO Startup 289

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 16, 2011

They charge $9, $29 and $59 per agent per month and I am eager to see bootstrapped, scrappy Freshdesk morph their pricing structure to aggressively compete with them. We see Bizosys as a promising niche vendor with demonstrated capabilities in creative bootstrapping. RightNow's per agent price starts at $110 per agent per month.

India 123

India Bootstrapping Non-Compete Entrepreneur 123

YoungUpstarts

MAY 6, 2019

According to Lee M Von Kraus, PHD and a mentor at Clarity.fm, “Early stage startups are usually pre-money startup that are bootstrapping the early development of a product.”. Either to go for investors pitch to them directly about your product, or keep yourself bootstrapped. How much revenue are you generating on an annual basis?

Startup 113

Startup Technical Cofounder Merger Early Stage 113

Haystack

NOVEMBER 12, 2018

By all accounts, the Utah-HQ’d company did everything the right way, was an overnight success 16 years in the making, and only raised venture capital as a growth company after years of bootstrapping. Of course, SAP or others could’ve made a run at Qualtrics earlier, and who knows – maybe folks had tried and failed.

Acquisition 105

Acquisition Utah IPO Venture Capital 105

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 14, 2016

Before a quiet acquisition by PCH Innovations for just $15 million, Fab had raised 11 rounds of VC funding at a $900 million valuation. It was able to reinvest that cash into the business, creating immediate and dramatic revenue growth. Let’s not forget the bootstrapping option. Go it alone.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Securities and Exchange Commission New York City Cofounder 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2020

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. On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue).

Angel Investor 370

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 370

Eric Friedman

FEBRUARY 7, 2023

It’s evident in the rise of companies like WhatsApp and Instagram that employed a mere 20+ people before their acquisition. When you release a software service that solves a problem that many people have, your monthly revenue can grow exponentially. Each is a demonstration of the critical role that shipping plays in building.

Engineer 78

Engineer United States Software Engineering Bootstrapping 78

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2015

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. Patents can raise startup valuation by investors by as much as a million dollars, and will attract acquisitions rather than copycats.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Intellectual Property Cofounder Bootstrapping 120

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2016

Of course, if you are able to bootstrap your startup, and don’t anticipate the need for outside investors, you can technically ignore the first two points. If you can convince investors that your startup will generate a solid revenue stream, and the market won’t go away any time soon, they may see an opportunity for an ever larger return.

Equity 120

Equity Exit Strategy Private Equity Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2020

Even if you are bootstrapping the business, and not looking for outside investors, the “rules of thumb” that smart investors look for should be the same ones that you use to assess your own risks and set reasonable expectations for progress and success. > Market penetration and revenue targets related to opportunity size.

Liquidity Event 308

Liquidity Event Forecast Exit Strategy Bootstrapping 308

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. Lloyed explores the intricate art of harnessing the community’s strength as your ultimate acquisition channe l, brand differentiator, feedback source, retention lever, and catalyst for transformative change.

Community 54

Community Kuwait Cofounder Bootstrapping 54

View from Seed

MARCH 22, 2016

Even if you’re in the pre-revenue, pre-seed or seed stage, there are still ways to get on a reporter’s radar. A business publication may care less about the technical nuances, but you can bet they’ll want to hear about your numbers and your strategy for raising revenue. This one is tricker in the pre-revenue stage. As with No.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage San Francisco Startup CTO Hire 120

The Startup Magazine

DECEMBER 14, 2021

While they were initially bootstrapped, they had already raised over $200 million before this year began, gaining the coveted unicorn status back in July 2019. At the time of funding, their revenue for the year to date had already exceeded $200 million. It helps that they are backed by some of social media’s biggest stars.

Venture Capital 166

Venture Capital Bootstrapping Valuation Social Media 166

ConversionXL

NOVEMBER 25, 2020

We’re a bootstrapped company that started with more time than money. At the eight minute mark, YouTube allows for creators to put extra ads in the content so they’ve got an incentive to show those longer videos and generate more ad revenue. This drives multi-million dollars of revenue for us.

Channel 129

Channel Metrics Algorithm Video 129

ReadWriteStart

JULY 12, 2023

Gesto decided to scale InvGate after bootstrapping for the past 14 years. Companies can increase their revenue potential and access new customer bases by expanding into new markets. Companies in the IT management industry need customer acquisition and retention strategies that work to set them apart from the competition.

United States 121

United States Management Mexico Artificial Inteligence 121

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

OCTOBER 11, 2010

WhenBusy is a bootstrapped startup that lets people schedule meetings with you in currently-available time-slots without you having to share your calendar [disclosure: I'm an advisor]. Of course it's not that simple, and many business plans I've seen (unintentionally) omit many of the true costs of acquisition. Advertising ??

Software Review 261

Software Review Technical Review Viral Software Developers 261

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

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 10, 2010

They already have several customers including some telcos, and are at about $350,000 in revenues. Because customer financing equals revenue, not equity. That's why, I advised Gio to keep going with further execution on his business and build more revenue traction. In 1M/1M, our preferred financing strategy is customers.

Cloud 115

Cloud Silicon Valley Incubator Finance 115

Tim Keane

MARCH 9, 2011

Can you bootstrap your way to positive cash flow?   If the answer is relatively soon, then bootstrapping is a very serious consideration.    Even if it isn’t soon, early bootstrapping can reduce risk and increase chances for success, resulting in more aligned interests for entrepreneurs and investors.

Finance 83

Finance Bootstrapping Startup Equity 83

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

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2018

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. On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue).

Angel Investor 184

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 184

Austin Startup

JUNE 26, 2019

We tried, and opted out of, potentials for pivots; we pitched for game-changing partners and acquisitions that did not ultimately convert. Even though most of this message was already drafted, we also had a Hail Mary of a final acquisition conversation that closed the following morning. Bootstrapping is AMAZING! Some things.

Silicon Valley 54

Silicon Valley Startup B2C Sweat Equity 54

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 13, 2019

Whether a brand new bootstrapped startup or corporate giant, your altitude, sustainability, and traction has everything to do with your team. Smaller companies with hotter brands can make for great acquisitions. Acquiring revenues can be very important. Think about a Google or Apple acquisition of Tesla. Your Brand.

Intellectual Property 101

Intellectual Property IP Acquisition Startup 101

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 21, 2010

At today's roundtable, we had some very interesting discussions on creative bootstrapping. Justin is looking for a more efficient customer acquisition model, and my suggestion to him was to look into using distributors, instead of trying to do all the development and then also all the distribution himself.

Bootstrapping 113

Bootstrapping IP India Silicon Valley 113

The Startup Toolkit

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

The company becomes valuable and someone buys the whole thing (acquisition). Within the second category, there are 3 types of acquisitions which each behave quite differently: The company has failed, but manages to sell off something of value (patents, team, etc) on the way out (asset sale or talent acquisition).

Dividend 50

Dividend Acquisition Founder Bootstrapping 50

Austin Startup

DECEMBER 17, 2017

John Imlay of MSA occasionally took me on road shows with analysts to talk about his new acquisition Peachtree Software. Hurricane Irma had a major negative revenue impact on one whose fall book of business was mostly in Florida. I got the message. Might your company be the bell-ringer that makes one of them a big winner?

Silicon Valley 48

Silicon Valley Atlanta Software Review Early Stage 48

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 27, 2011

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. It certainly will be a better way to bootstrap the company. million in revenue. SOCO Games. Brainscape. The answer to the question is neither.

Dilution 114

Dilution Revenue Finance Entrepreneur 114

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

If you are lucky enough to not be looking for an outside investor, meaning you are bootstrapping the business, the secrets that smart investors use to evaluate startups can help you understand your own risks and help you set reasonable expectations for yourself. I recently saw a startup projecting $50 million in revenue for the first year.

Liquidity Event 120

Liquidity Event Startup Initial Public Offering Equity 120

ReadWriteStart

JULY 18, 2011

Every company has a forecast for how it will get to an arbitrary $100 million in revenue and they all hit it on year five. The first stage is bootstrapping, where you raise between $50k and $100k and you try to make that money last as long as you can. What's interesting is the assumptions that go into that vision of scaling.

Investment Bankers 153

Investment Bankers Technical Review Cofounder Due Diligence 153

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2014

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. On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue).

Angel Investor 232

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 232

ConversionXL

MARCH 31, 2021

Cash flow is a matter of life or death when bootstrapped and pre-funding. More importantly, it’s become an acquisition channel for the agencies they partnered with, allowing them to stand on the shoulders of a well-known brand. Build personal connections with podcasting.

Audience 127

Audience Non-Compete Distribution Channel 127

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 14, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Tuesday, April 14, 2009 Validated learning about customers Would you rather have $30,000 or $1 million in revenues for your startup? All things being equal, of course, you’d rather have more revenue rather than less. And yet revenue alone is not a sufficient goal. More on that in a moment.

Customer 167

Customer San Francisco Lean Hockey Stick 167

Rob Go

DECEMBER 28, 2011

61M in Q3 revenue, up 28% YoY. Ebay’s third largest acquisition in the last 3 years. The company is expected to do around $500M in revenue in 2011 and has seen 50%+ growth YoY the past two years. The company also never raised any previous financing, and is one of the great bootstrapped success stories out there.

Technical Review 54

Technical Review Boston Software Review IPO 54