Bootstrapper.com - Confessions of Serial Entrepreneurs

I’ve always admired people who can create value from nothing, in any field, in any context and whatever value means to them.

Once there was an idea . . . then there was liability insurance, after that - office furniture and if you’ve been smarter and luckier than most, “I want business class airfare specified in my contract,” will come up more often than you’d like. For the record, the answer to that one is always, no.

But before there are any of these things, there is a line. One the left side of the line (Point A) is your idea and on the right side (Point B) is the launch of your new, can’t fail, light-up boomerang with FM tuner.

How to get from A to B is where all this bootstrapping stuff comes in.

Here are some random thoughts to keep in mind at the start of your journey:

Persuade:

If you have the passion and an idea worth pursuing, convincing other people of its merits is what it’s all about. Where better to start than with those who can help you get it built?

Besides, if you raise a million dollars and pay handsome salaries to people to build it for you, what are the chances that each of your newest employees is as committed as you are? Zero.

Beg:

Beg hard and often, but not for money. If you get the money, it’s unlikely you’ll know what to do with it (See above). Smart investors know this too. That’s why they say come back when you’ve got it built.

Spend your time seeking out REAL knowledge and expertise. Everyone is googling the same stuff you are. Get out of your Aeron chair and go talk to people. Sometimes begging is required –

“Hi, i got your name from Mr. Dinowitz and he said that you started a business 10 yrs ago like the one i’m starting now”…”yeah what do you want?” “well, i thought that maybe if you had a few minutes…” “I don’t have time for tea.” Click.

I was much younger then.

Fortunately, I do have a dozen of those “i can’t believe that guy gave away all that information for free. Maybe he’s lonely…” stories. Go get your own. Almost all of the successful people I know have made smooth transitions from warrior to mentor. They like to talk about those halcyon Web 1.5 days.

Borrow:

Borrow people, resources, server space. I have conducted many a meeting at student lounges across NYC where I’ve begged friends to meet me and borrowed their IDs to let me and my partners in. Starbuck’s is too loud and too unpredictable these days. And we’ve all got a friend or two that ‘hosts their own stuff.’ Time to hit him/her up.

Steal:

No, not the paperclips from your current financial services database job - steal time and ideas. In the grand scheme of things, that episode of Entourage isn’t as important as you think. Skip it and write, research and get excited about your idea all over again. Steal an hour here and there and you’ve built a parallel work week.

You like the color palette of that new parakeet training site? It’s yours. The elegant approach to registering 10 people at a time? Save it.

Even if you can’t leave your job this minute to pursue your dream, do at least one thing to advance the cause of your cause — a note, a phone call, some code. It’ll make you feel less helpless.