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

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2019

Bootstrap if you can, otherwise climb the pyramid of family, friends, angels, and VCs. If you take investor money, expect a push for hockey-stick growth and a liquidity event, like going public (IPO) or sale (M&A), to get the payback. No one wants to put in money until you have a product, and you need money to build the product.

Hockey Stick 243

Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event Startup 243

Rob Go

DECEMBER 28, 2011

IPO’s/Exits. Kayak: Registered for an IPO but on hold. Raised $174M in its IPO in April, current market cap ~$550M. in its IPO, current market cap of $282M. The company also never raised any previous financing, and is one of the great bootstrapped success stories out there. market cap.

Technical Review 54

Technical Review Boston Software Review IPO 54

ReadWriteStart

JULY 18, 2011

Kedrosky: "In the 90's I was an analyst through all this [tech investment and IPO] madness. You want to build your own IPO and exit. 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. For 10 years there have been no gazelles to take down.

Investment Bankers 153

Investment Bankers Technical Review Cofounder Due Diligence 153

Version One Ventures

JULY 22, 2014

More money is flowing in from a new crop of angels, newly wealthy from a number of tech IPOs. That’s okay: many great companies have been built by bootstrapping. News Angel investor AngelList Bootstrapping funding Seed money Series A round Startup company venture capital' Is your opportunity at least $100M?

Finance 167

Finance Seed Money Bootstrapping Angel Investor 167

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

OCTOBER 23, 2012

.” Here’s the summary of his track record (excerpted from the Fast Company article): Forefront — IPO’ed in 1995 by CBT — CBT stock fell 85% in 1998 and prompted class-action lawsuits. invested, IPO’ed in 2000 for $32/share — stock price now $2. from an IPO under a year ago of $10.

IPO 240

IPO Flash Bootstrapping Private Equity 240

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

In 2001 companies IPO’d very quickly if they were working, by 2011 IPOs had slowed down to the point that in 2013 Aileen Lee of Cowboy Ventures astutely called billion-dollar outcomes “unicorns.”

Pre-Money Valuation 471

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Venture Capital Early Stage 471

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 25, 2023

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. IPO – public company initial public stock offering.

Exit Strategy 264

Exit Strategy Private Equity Equity Technical Review 264

Haystack

NOVEMBER 12, 2018

Last night, SAP bought the company before it could IPO. 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. Qualtrics recently filed to go public.

Acquisition 105

Acquisition Utah IPO Venture Capital 105

Tim Keane

APRIL 20, 2009

Bootstrap your venture. At last week's Business Plan Competition at Marquette University , the keynote speaker, Greg Gianforte, CEO of Right Now , talked passionately about the keys to bootstrapping businesses.    Greg is the well known author of Bootstrapping Your Business , and a frequent speaker on the topic. 

Bootstrapping 60

Bootstrapping Wisconsin Angel Investor IPO 60

crowdSPRING Blog

JUNE 21, 2013

Mark Cuban Says Dead IPO Market for Small Firms Hurts Competition – [link]. 13 Resources to Design for Bootstrap | Vandelay Design Blog – [link]. These VC funds are pouring millions into the Midwest – [link]. We’re All Too Busy…Missing Amazing Opportunities | by Daniel Burrus – [link].

Social Media 93

Social Media Small Business Design Media 93

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2018

The new investors you need at this stage are investment bankers, private equity, or competitors, to buy you out via merger or acquisition (M&A), or to go public with an Initial Public Offering (IPO). Obviously, maturity and growth are a continuum, so the rules are never absolute. Don’t sign up for one, expecting the other.

Angel Investor 184

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 184

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 25, 2020

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. IPO – public company initial public stock offering.

Exit Strategy 376

Exit Strategy Startup Private Equity Equity 376

www.entrepreneur.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Human Resources Play Video Shark Tanks Barbara Corcoran on Bootstrapping a Growing a Business (Video). Money Money Home Financing Taxes Accounting Basics Personal Finance Money Management Payments & Collections IPOs and DPOs Will Crazy Market Moves Kill IPOs and Slash VC Investment? Play Video. Play Video. Play Video.

Sweat Equity 55

Sweat Equity Equity Fractional CTO CTO 55

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2014

Bootstrap if you can, otherwise climb the pyramid of family, friends, Angels, and VCs. If you take investor money, expect a push for hockey-stick growth and a liquidity event, like going public (IPO) or sale (M&A), to get the payback. No one wants to put in money until you have a product, and you need money to build the product.

Hockey Stick 268

Hockey Stick Cofounder Entrepreneur Liquidity Event 268

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2017

Bootstrap if you can, otherwise climb the pyramid of family, friends, angels, and VCs. If you take investor money, expect a push for hockey-stick growth and a liquidity event, like going public (IPO) or sale (M&A), to get the payback. No one wants to put in money until you have a product, and you need money to build the product.

Hockey Stick 144

Hockey Stick Cofounder Entrepreneur Liquidity Event 144

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2014

The new investors you need at this stage are investment bankers, private equity, or competitors, to buy you out via merger or acquisition (M&A), or to go public with an Initial Public Offering (IPO). Obviously, maturity and growth are a continuum, so the rules are never absolute. Don’t sign up for one, expecting the other.

Angel Investor 232

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 232

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2013

Bootstrap if you can, otherwise climb the pyramid of family, friends, Angels, and VCs. If you take investor money, expect a push for hockey-stick growth and a liquidity event, like going public (IPO) or sale (M&A), to get the payback. No one wants to put in money until you have a product, and you need money to build the product.

Founder 245

Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 245

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 16, 2010

At Viasoft, we started with a unique product idea, raised venture capital from world class VC’s, sold into a virgin market, created a world-wide operation, completed a successful IPO, and generated a $1 billion market cap. Vitrix was started in an old tanning salon. Mike: Absolutely no question, raising outside capital for your venture.

Angel Investor 211

Angel Investor Arizona Entrepreneur Phoenix 211

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2012

At this stage, you need investment bankers to negotiate a merger or acquisition (M&A), go private, or help you go public with an Initial Public Offering (IPO). Obviously, if you bootstrap your business, you can avoid all these stages and the investment implications. Angels may be less demanding, but typically add less value.

Investment Bankers 241

Investment Bankers Venture Capital Startup Initial Public Offering 241

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2015

Luckily, there are some new entrants and approaches to seed-stage funding -- if you know whom to ask -- that can supplement the friends, family and bootstrapping approaches traditionally recommended. Most investors won’t touch a first-time entrepreneur at this stage. Here they are: A crowdfunding campaign.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Finance Early Stage Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2016

The new investors you need at this stage are investment bankers, private equity, or competitors, to buy you out via merger or acquisition (M&A), or to go public with an Initial Public Offering (IPO). Obviously, maturity and growth are a continuum, so the rules are never absolute. Don’t sign up for one, expecting the other.

Matching 120

Matching Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers 120

Campus Entrepreneurship

MARCH 9, 2012

However, as Facebook illustrates, more student-founded companies are bootstrapping without university technology, leaving schools without any profit — though that may be changing. ” via Dylan Reid: As Facebook IPO Nears, Universities Take Aim at Student Startups.

IPO 42

IPO Coder Seed Stage Startup 42

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2010

At this stage, you need investment bankers to negotiate a merger or acquisition (M&A), go private, or help you go public with an Initial Public Offering (IPO). Obviously, if you bootstrap your business, you can avoid all these stages and the investment implications. Angels may be less demanding, but typically add less value.

Investment Bankers 231

Investment Bankers Venture Capital Startup Initial Public Offering 231

Sophia Perl of Wisdom

JULY 18, 2011

Tip: If you want to go into a market where you are unsure, bootstrap to get a sense of whether there’s a massive opportunity. Could go IPO next year, wants to be around 30 yrs, being public helps. Xoom is a classic TAM, investors like Sequoia like to see these, Western Union has 20% of TAM.

Cofounder 49

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Silicon Valley San Francisco 49

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 26, 2013

Initial Public Offerings (IPO) are back as an exit strategy. That is a 65% increase in the number of IPOs over 2012, and the highest proceeds raised since the year 2000. No wonder 90% of the successful startups still bootstrap. business entrepreneur investment IPO social media startup' It’s not too late to start.

IPO 273

IPO Entrepreneur Social Media Startup 273

Mucker Lab

JANUARY 1, 2014

For better for worse, only entrepreneurs ready to bootstrap their companies for 12-24 month are able to start new ventures. IPO markets goes gangbusters for the first 6 month until a huge slow down in the second half. which causes a lot of VC’s to default on their leases to their brand new Maserati(s).

Seed Stage 84

Seed Stage Early Stage Distribution Bootstrapping 84

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. IPO – public company initial public stock offering. entrepreneur exit IPO lifestyle m&a startup' Marty Zwilling.

Exit Strategy 289

Exit Strategy Entrepreneur IPO Startup 289

Gust

NOVEMBER 22, 2011

At this stage, you need investment bankers to negotiate a merger or acquisition (M&A), go private, or help you go public with an Initial Public Offering (IPO). Obviously, if you bootstrap your business, you can avoid all these stages and the investment implications. Angels may be less demanding, but typically add less value.

Venture Capital 171

Venture Capital Investment Bankers Angel Investor Initial Public Offering 171

Mucker Lab

JANUARY 1, 2014

For better for worse, only entrepreneurs ready to bootstrap their companies for 12-24 month are able to start new ventures. IPO markets goes gangbusters for the first 6 month until a huge slow down in the second half. which causes a lot of VC’s to default on their leases to their brand new Maserati(s).'

Seed Stage 60

Seed Stage Early Stage Distribution Bootstrapping 60

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 22, 2012

They can serve as a stepping stone to the next venture, they can lead to finding jobs at other organizations that can exploit the same product knowledge or expertise, or they can remain bootstrapped until they get the value proposition or business model right (what, no funding?). Is the "Quality Gap" of Accelerators Reality or Perception?

Startup 133

Startup Portfolio Metrics Bootstrapping 133

Startup Lessons Learned

FEBRUARY 9, 2009

As someone who has bootstrapped a software company ([link] and funded it through selling software and consulting to customers, I certainly know what it means to live lean and Ive even taken your advice ([link] I just wish I was in the Bay area and could come by "office hours". Labels: events 2comments: Andrew Meyer said.

Lean 68

Lean San Francisco Web Advisory Board 68

The Next Web

AUGUST 5, 2013

B: No, the business is bootstrapped. B: I’m working on a SaaS tool that foos bars. A: Oh cool, where are you guys based? B: Well, it’s just me, I’m actually traveling, not based anywhere. A: Have you raised money? A: So you just work out of coffee shops and stuff? B: Sometimes, but mostly I don’t work. I do other stuff. Make a sale.

Chile 122

Chile Canada Bootstrapping IPO 122

Business Plan Blog

SEPTEMBER 24, 2013

Companies raising this type of capital typically have been bootstrapped for quite some time, boasting revenues of $10M+ and looking for institutional capital to grow fast with goal of reaching a not too long term IPO. Jumbo Series A deals typically range between $15M and $60M. Average and Media Seed and Series A Deals.

Technology 49

Technology Early Stage Venture Capital Bootstrapping 49

Reid Hoffman

MARCH 19, 2019

And from a financial perspective, any investor would be better off buying stock in Amazon than buying and share of a corner bookshop; if you invested $100 in Amazon’s 1997 initial public offering (IPO), those shares would have been worth about $120,000 in 2018. Blitzscaling is a strategic technique for moving faster, not a reckless gamble.

Cofounder 28

Cofounder Business Model IPO Non-Compete 28

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2015

Initial Public Offerings (IPO) are back as an exit strategy. Last year was the most active year for IPOs in the United States since 2000. 275 IPOs were completed in 2014, topping the 2013 total of 222 by more than 23%. IPO proceeds also shattered 2013’s high-water mark of $55 billion, with an impressive $85 billion in proceeds.

IPO 120

IPO Angel Investor Startup Incubator 120

The Startup Toolkit

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

It gets very big and very valuable and you go public (IPO). Not a lot of people think about revenue-based exits, so I guess I hope spreading the word can help finish off the myth that bootstrapping equals small and unambitious. As a founder, you get a pile of money in one of four ways: You generate profits and keep some (dividends).

Dividend 50

Dividend Acquisition Founder Bootstrapping 50