The bootstrapped tag has no wiki summary.
28
votes
9answers
4k views
Dilemma: to outsource the coding or do it yourself
I develop and sell iPhone apps. I've released one app, and decided to build a few more, in parallel. I thought about outsourcing some of the coding, so I went on Elance and posted some jobs there. The ...
9
votes
6answers
413 views
How to find potential co-founders for a startup?
I've been working on a bootstrapped startup for about 2 years now. I've been working on it solo to this point, but I feel I'm starting to run out of gas. I need fresh ideas, money and assistance in ...
12
votes
7answers
817 views
What are the best free resources for a startup?
Question's focus is: free + resource = value
So, far there have been a lot of answers related to software, have any other suggestions?
Examples: Books, Trial Services, etc.
7
votes
19answers
2k views
How do I survive when starting a business without a paycheck?
When you start a new company, it is necessary to dedicate 100% of your time and effort to make it successful? How do you do this without a paycheck? Especially if you have a family?
8
votes
2answers
302 views
How and When to Raise Funds For Your Company
Funding your company is an important part of your startup and expansion strategy. It's a broad topic that has a lot of aspects including: keeping your idea secret, seed funding, angels, venture ...
7
votes
4answers
667 views
When is it a bad idea to bootstrap?
There are two types of startups - those who try to get big quickly and then figure out a way to become profitable, and those who are profitable from the beginning, but grow much slower. The first type ...
5
votes
3answers
986 views
What is the appropriate equity % for software bootstrap key employees?
I have been working with a start up without pay for the last 8 months.
I have been a senior sales executive with tier one companies for the past 20 years. My position is to build and manage all ...
9
votes
11answers
3k views
What's a reasonable amount of equity to retain when you're the key founder?
I'm working with two other partners to get a SaaS startup off the ground. I worked on this thing slowly, mostly on my own, for about two years before approaching my partners. As a background, I knew ...
10
votes
6answers
647 views
Using consulting to bootstrap your software startup
I've been through some pretty brutal experiences recently with venture capitalists and I'm looking into ways I can start a company without VC money.
Has anyone out there used consulting to bootstrap ...
7
votes
2answers
146 views
Feature fatigue
Is it just me or is there such a "diagnoses" as "feature fatigue"? On more than one occasions I noticed that when I am about 75% though new feature development I am starting to stall and my ...
6
votes
4answers
273 views
Incorporate while still in development phase?
Is there any good reason to incorporate while you are still in development or bootstrapping phase? Or should you wait until the product is ready or when there are customers?
Thank you for sharing ...
8
votes
12answers
658 views
The best solution for creating a screen-shot movie to demonstrate a website feature?
We recently just launched a new space planner/floor plan tool on our site and would like to create a screen-shot movie (with a voiceover commentary) to visually demonstrates its ease of use. Can ...
4
votes
4answers
873 views
How to prevent legit emails sent to customers who asked these emails from being considered spam?
I'm bootstrapping a business software and I've got a serious issue: I don't plan on doing any "mass mailing" nor "email campaign".
I will never ever send one email to someone who didn't ask. My ...
9
votes
5answers
401 views
Savings, Bootstrapping, Starting Up
A friend of mine recommended 3 years worth of savings in order to start bootstrapping for my self-funded startup. Does this seem reasonable? I had previously been working towards a goal of 1 year's ...
3
votes
5answers
302 views
Starting New School Revenue Streams
Hey guys, it's me again. As was to be expected, I've run into funding problems with Idea School.
The quality teachers I'm looking for are worth about $50-60K per year. Now, of course, they ...
3
votes
5answers
457 views
Can I have an LLC while still working for an employer?
Some customers are more confident buying your product if you are a corporation, but on the other hand while you are bootstrapping you still need some cash coming in, and one way to do this is to work ...
2
votes
3answers
210 views
Is bootstrap a startup development methodology?
I've always understood bootstrapping in the context of startups to mean that the business achieves sustainability through customers, not loans, equity deals, etc.
Ash Maurya has a blog post from a ...
