Before You Bootstrap Your Startup, Make Sure You Do These Six Things
Bootstrapping isn’t about forgoing outside investment — it’s about overcoming setbacks, delusions, and scarce resources
Bootstrapping: getting (oneself or something) into or out of a situation using existing resources.
— Oxford Dictionary
Right after I sold my company, a big investment bank invited me to New York to talk about my business and my exit strategy in front of an audience of entrepreneurs, business owners, and bankers. The host of the Q&A session decided to break the ice with an unexpected million-dollar question: “What is your definition of success?” Thank you, Mr. Host, for the easy question…
I’m a lucky entrepreneur who bootstrapped his company back in 2009 with exactly €900 ($1,000) in the bank, my brain, and a lot of dreams in the drawer. Those were all I had in terms of existing resources.
Ten years later, I’ve sold products in 155 countries, established offices on three continents, scaled, and sold my business to private equity. Now I’m the lucky angel investor and adviser of young entrepreneurs facing the dilemma: Bootstrap or venture capital?
I wouldn’t be the person I am today (for good and bad) if I hadn’t taken the long…
