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

APRIL 6, 2016

It’s more possible to bootstrap today than a few years ago, as the cost of entry continues to go down. The key to successful bootstrapping is to master the do-it-yourself approach, defer compensation or barter services whenever possible and become a frugal minimalist in all things requiring a cash outlay.

Bootstrapping 120

Bootstrapping Hockey Stick Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 120

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. Hire an attorney to make sure the terms are fair. Tie re-payments to revenue growth in the startup. This shows respect and professionalism.

Sweat Equity 274

Sweat Equity Elevator Pitch Startup Equity 274

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

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

You should avoid spending your time here and instead focus on finding a way to generate revenue or to attract investors so that you can afford to hire someone. What sweat equity is not good for is for people who you don’t know at all. How To Get There

Technical Cofounder 241

Technical Cofounder CTO Hire Equity Sweat Equity 241

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2023

The alternative is to work with an innovation institute to evaluate your technology, or hire a consultant. This normally means more than 30 employees, and more than $1 million in revenue. If you need help at this stage, look for a local university teaching online courses on entrepreneurship , or how to build a business plan.

Incubator 305

Incubator Startup Exit Strategy Institutional Investors 305

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 31, 2018

Here are some tips for bootstrapping your business. This beats purchasing your own expensive servers and hiring specialists to maintain them. Write down every penny you have to invest and calculate both your expenses and expected revenue for the next six months. Work in a Spare Room. Develop a Budget.

Software Review 168

Software Review Cloud Social Media Bootstrapping 168

YoungUpstarts

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

Bootstrap was term coined from the computer lingo ‘booting’ which means starting a computer or starting a chain of processes which eventually starts up the operating system. In the startup world, bootstrapping essentially means funding your own venture and not being too dependent on external sources. Spend Wisely. Experiment.

Bootstrapping 100

Bootstrapping Cofounder Startup Sales Cycle 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2021

How do you convince investors that your business model will really work, before you have a revenue stream that exceeds your expenses? Even if you are bootstrapping your business, and you are the only investor, you should be asking yourself the same question. Plan for a real revenue model.

Business Model 414

Business Model Angel Investor Bootstrapping Revenue 414

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

Gust

APRIL 27, 2014

Unless you are bootstrapping everything, you need to have a clear plan on what networking and documents are required to get to friends and family, Angel investors, and institutional investors. At this stage, you should start recruiting, hiring, paying, and training others to help you run your business. Billing and revenue collection.

Startup 187

Startup Institutional Investors Angel Investor Bootstrapping 187

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2022

That means coming up with revenue and expense assumptions that balance your natural optimism and determine how much cash the business will really need. Then take your revenue projections and cut them in half. Are you going to bootstrap, or borrow from personal assets? Don’t formalize the business until you get revenue.

Early Stage 307

Early Stage Bootstrapping Revenue Framework 307

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 24, 2015

By bootstrapping, bartering, reducing overheads (rental and manpower), and leveraging technology (especially the web), one can start one’s own business almost on a dime without being beholden to creditors or venture capitalists. This spanned the following areas: #1 Generate Higher Revenue. Growth & Sustenance Strategies.

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Software Review South Carolina Startup 100

Eric Friedman

FEBRUARY 7, 2023

When you release a software service that solves a problem that many people have, your monthly revenue can grow exponentially. They can bootstrap what they want to see in the world in a way that makes more sense for them. So what exactly does shipping mean? Shipping means a product worth using. Shipping begets more shipping.

Engineer 78

Engineer United States Software Engineering Bootstrapping 78

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 22, 2013

While you are working away on your business plan, looking for ways to raise capital, finding the right people to hire, etc., Also, it’s made so many things, like hiring and other decisions, significantly simpler for us, because we can always look to our mission for help.”. Hire great people… then get out of their way.

Cofounder 164

Cofounder Founder Startup Bootstrapping 164

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 11, 2017

The budget behind logo can be as lil as $5 or as hilly as more than half million dollars, even after hiring a top-of-the-line, full-blown branding and advertising agency. Let’s look at two active scenarios that we have picked right for you with one being your own situation, perhaps: Early Movers & Bootstrapped. Seems wise but real.

Design 100

Design Technical Review Entrepreneur Bootstrapping 100

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 29, 2024

Revenue streams are another critical component of your business model. Hiring the right people is critical, but it’s just the beginning. Whether it’s through bootstrapping, seeking angel investors, or applying for grants, explore all options available to you.

Intellectual Property 131

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Business Model Bootstrapping 131

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2020

The alternative is to work with an innovation institute to evaluate your technology, or hire a consultant. This normally means more than 30 employees, and more than $1 million in revenue. If you need help at this stage, look for a local university teaching online courses on entrepreneurship , or how to build a business plan.

Incubator 429

Incubator Startup Exit Strategy Institutional Investors 429

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2021

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. Hire an attorney to make sure the terms are fair. Tie re-payments to revenue growth in the startup. This shows respect and professionalism.

Sweat Equity 346

Sweat Equity Elevator Pitch Equity Venture Capital 346

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 9, 2019

Tech startups are, in contrast, focused on rapid growth, potential, and top-end revenue. In many cases, tech startups can’t afford the expense of hiring a full-time accounting staff member. Goal setting is essential to the success of any business, and is critical to the growth of a tech startup in the bootstrapping stage.

Technical Review 81

Technical Review Bootstrapping Startup Finance 81

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

View from Seed

JULY 7, 2015

His company is a bootstrapped startup (for now, he says) that helps other software companies price their products based on what customers will actually pay — and essentially avoid leaving revenue on the table. In the episode, you’ll hear about how we got hired in the first place and why we decided to leave.

Bootstrapping 120

Bootstrapping Founder Boston Cofounder 120

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? .” How many startups are bootstrapped?

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

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 104

Startup Technical Cofounder Merger Early Stage 104

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. Hello, debt. You’ve raised.

Bootstrapping 63

Bootstrapping Cap Table Liquidation Preference Cofounder 63

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2019

That means coming up with revenue and expense assumptions that balance your natural optimism and determine how much cash the business will really need. Then take your revenue projections and cut them in half. Are you going to bootstrap, or borrow from personal assets? Don’t formalize the business until you get revenue.

Early Stage 317

Early Stage Bootstrapping Revenue Framework 317

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

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 7, 2010

Sub-$2 million pre-money, it is better to bootstrap. Rajan Chandi then discussed HirePlug.com , a Facebook application to help large employers manage referral hiring. As a thumb rule, try to get enough validation so that you can get to at least a $2 million pre-money valuation before raising equity capital. Igor did not have an answer.

Valuation 119

Valuation Silicon Valley Pre-Money Valuation Bootstrapping 119

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. Hire experts, not help.

Equity 241

Equity Bootstrapping Startup Merger 241

Feld Thoughts

JANUARY 2, 2014

” I bootstrapped my first company and, while we did a lot of work for VCs, I liked taking money from them as “revenue” (where they paid Feld Technologies for our services) rather than as investment. Amy likes to remind me that when I was an entrepreneur, I used to regularly give talks at MIT about entrepreneurship.

San Francisco 159

San Francisco Boston Venture Capital Angel Investor 159

K9 Ventures

MAY 28, 2015

At K9 we invest in companies which have a clear/direct revenue model and typically don’t invest in companies that follow the Ubiquity first Revenue Later (URL) revenue model made famous by Eric Schmidt in 2007. I call this Revenue Development and have written about it before. >$0/month.

Revenue 48

Revenue Startup Burn Rate Cofounder 48

Up and Running

AUGUST 27, 2020

Canny is 100% bootstrapped —we haven’t taken any outside funding. We’re profitable, and we just cracked $800K in annual recurring revenue earlier this year. Here’s how we got started, and our lessons learned from growing a bootstrapped company. Plus, we couldn’t afford to hire—so in some ways, this made the decision easy.

Founder 120

Founder Cofounder Bootstrapping Startup 120

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. A: International expansion allows companies to increase revenue potential, access new customer bases, and stay competitive.

United States 121

United States Management Mexico Artificial Inteligence 121

David Teten

JANUARY 21, 2021

This essay is part of a series on alternative VC: I: Revenue-Based Investing: a new option for founders who care about control. II: Who are the major Revenue-Based Investing VCs? III: Why are Revenue-Based VCs investing in so many women and underrepresented founders? IV: Should your new VC fund use Revenue-Based Investing?

Equity 78

Equity Revenue Cofounder Colorado 78

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 28, 2018

The alternative is to work with an innovation institute to evaluate your technology, or hire a consultant. This normally means more than 30 employees, and more than $1 million in revenue. If you need help at this stage, look for a local university teaching online courses on entrepreneurship , or how to build a business plan.

Incubator 236

Incubator Exit Strategy Institutional Investors Angel Investor 236

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 13, 2019

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. The first one relates to the most important investor…you, the founder(s)! We got back on our feet and successfully pivoted the business.

Strategic Investors 49

Strategic Investors Austin Angel Investor Bootstrapping 49