We all wish we could spend $50,000 to hire an awesome design agency for every new idea we have. But for early stage startups - especially bootstrappers - that isn't always a sound investment. True, a high quality, custom-built brand and website is going to make all the difference someday - and it's great that you're into design, man (should be read in hippy voice) - but today you want to focus on ...

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Via: COPY HACKERS

Hey, there. Four years ago this December, my husband and I launched our first software as a service, Freckle Time Tracking. Since then, it's grossed nearly $700,000, and we've grown, shrunk, hired, fired, stagnated and worked our tails off. To celebrate, I'm writing a series of blog posts about what we've learned. ...

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Via: UnicornFree Written by Amy Hoy I put the Amy in anomaly. Bootstrapper, product crusader, Ru

I sat back and analyzed my startups today and compared my funded startups with my bootstrapped startups. It's logical to assume that my funded startups did better because we essentially had a huge influx of cash to invest into people, marketing, and product; however, my bootstrapped startups have done remarkably better time and time again. ...

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Via: The Blog Of Jun Loayza Written by Jun Loayza Founder of @TourWoo, the easiest way to book a tour online.

I'm a huge fan of bootstrapped businesses. Those who bootstrap a business enjoy a unique satisfaction knowing they created value from nothing with very-little-to-no outside financial support. I have started several businesses, successfully exiting two, and along the way I have found a few things to be consistent when starting a business, especially when bootstrapping. ...

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Via: Silicon Prairie News Written by Brian Hemesath Business builder and sometimes fixer. Enjoy the ride. http:

Business men believed that you could do anything by "financing" it. If it did not go through on the first financing then the idea was to "refinance." The process of "refinancing" was simply the game of sending good money after bad. In the majority of cases the need of refinancing arises from bad management, and the effect of refinancing is simply to pay the poor managers to keep up their bad manag ...

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Via: UnicornFree Written by Amy Hoy I put the Amy in anomaly. Bootstrapper, product crusader, Ru

Clever landing page tests and interviews can tell you whether an idea is bad, but not whether it will work. There's still a big leap from "problem exists" to a product that delights while fitting into someones life and being able to attract new users.It's simply too expensive to outsource your way through the initial uncertainty. Each additional product tweaks are too painful. It's a slow bleed. ...

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Via: The Startup Toolkit Written by Rob Fitzpatrick Founder at http://dex.io (get more speaking gigs). I talk &

I have a startup with thirty paying customers. We've been bootstrapping up to this point.I think there's a big opportunity to raise money, but also I could continue as I have been. I don't know way to go. I already know the pros and cons of the decision, so don't lecture me about that. I just don't know how to pick!This is one of those few dilemmas where there's no wrong answer. ...

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Via: A Smart Bear Written by Jason Cohen Keyword, buzzword, half-truth, adjective, hey look at me!

Today I was on the phone with the CEO of a company with almost $10 million in venture funding. This guy was smart, helpful and serious. We were on the phone because we're running companies in the same space, using similar technologies. But we're targeting different customers. "Dan," he said, "I like what you're doing. I think it's interesting. But it's not a big enough market opportunity for us ...

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Via: Dan Shipper Written by Dan Shipper UPenn junior. Co-Founder at @UseFirefly. Jets fan.

I'm a firm believer that perfection doesn't exist and even less so for a new startup. When it comes to startups, I think the "Done is better than perfect" mantra fits perfectly. And if a startup holds that mantra close to heart, it should result in something that resembles Mark Zuckerberg / Facebook's "The Hacker Way". ...

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Via: Adii Written by Adii Rockstar Entrepreneur, co-founder of WooThemes and general creator of

I guess this is likely the most obvious thing I can say about bootstrapping or running a lean startup: it seems that the obvious thing to do is to cut away all of the unnecessary expenses and only spend money on things that are needed in furthering the business. Yet I don’t think the principle is that clear. ...

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Via: Adii Written by Adii Rockstar Entrepreneur, co-founder of WooThemes and general creator of

A couple of days ago a friend asked me whether I'm in favor of startups getting angel investment. He pointed out this post on this blog, which is me writing about five good reasons not to seek investment. My answer … Continue reading → ...

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Via: Gust Blog Written by Tim Berry Founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software; entrepreneur, bu

Bootstrapping obviously works best when you don’t have loads of expenses & overheads burdening you down. One of these expenses that seems unavoidable in a startup, is marketing-related expenditure. Regardless of what you classify under marketing, most of your options (PPC, Banner Advertising, PR etc.) will cost you something. The free alternatives are obviously viable, but they rely on signif ...

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Via: Adii Written by Adii Rockstar Entrepreneur, co-founder of WooThemes and general creator of

Posted in EssaysFor the next couple of weeks, Mondays will be “Bootstrap Mondays” on the blog & I’ll try to share some insight into how we’ve bootstrapped WooThemes to the size & significance it is today. Way back in 2007 (2 November 2007 to be exact) when I first released the original product that lead to me meeting my co-founders and us launching WooThemes, I wasn ...

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Via: Adii Written by Adii Rockstar Entrepreneur, co-founder of WooThemes and general creator of

Subject: Small taxi company looking to expand Hello, I run a small taxi company outside of Boston Massachusetts. My community has been targeted for casino development and I am looking to expand my business. Could you possibly provide some advice on how to find venture capital? ...

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Via: Dan Shapiro Written by Dan Shapiro Google acquired @sparkbuy, so I now work on www.google.com/a

With “lean and mean” becoming a startup mantra, the idea of bootstrapping has become sexy because it talks to the ability to build something from scratch while maintaining your freedom and independence. The ability to bootstrap has become more possible as the costs to nurture develop and market a product have declined. What may have [...] ...

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Via: Mark Evans Tech Written by Mark Evans Startup marketer, conference organizer, hockey player, dad,