Bootstrapper.com - Confessions of Serial Entrepreneurs

Ah….the life of a Bootstrapper. You know who you are. Big ideas, limited capital, and a limited market window. I know the dynamics well.

Bootstrapping is not just a cool term for being rebellious or beating the odds. Bootstrapping is about cutting corners, crafting your vision, and being creative in order to see that vision unfold.

Let’s examine the very definition of a Bootstrap from the web:

Bootstrap

A situation in which an entrepreneur starts a company with little capital. An individual is said to be boot strapping when he or she attempts to found and build a company from personal finances or from the operating revenues of the new company.

Compared to using venture capital, Bootstrapping can be beneficial as the entrepreneur is able to maintain control over all decisions. On the downside, however, this form of financing may place unnecessary financial risk on the entrepreneur. Furthermore, boot strapping may not provide enough investment for the company to become successful at a reasonable rate.

O.K. so what does that all mean to us? It means that we need to always examine the ups and downs and remind ourselves that as Bootstrappers we aren’t just guys that come up with an idea and go find investors to fund it.

You see, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how good your ideas are, it doesnt matter how much of a demand there is and it doesn’t matter how well you can sell the idea to an investor. What will really affect the the outcome of your venture is keeping yourself in touch with REALITY and VALUE. I think that seeing reality is a tough thing for a BootStrapper. I have been guilty of wanting my concept to turn in to a reality without real examination many times and I have had my “cereal” eaten as a result.

Do your homework, and personally reflect on and justify the value of your offering. Be sure to ask yourself tough questions. Do you really know your market? Is this really going to be enough money? Can we really pull off the timetables? Look yourself in the mirror and ask if you can really see the reality of how the future will unfold for you and what you really need to get there. Its also important to examine whether you really require some or all of the capital that you project or if there are ways to accomplish your goals in other ways without putting yourself in unnecessary risk. Also, don’t do it just once - make it a habit of rising above the sizzle and the business plan and focus on the vision of where your concept can lead. If you can pull that together and still feel good about it, then move on. If not then re-evaluate what you are doing. You will be a more effective Bootstrapper if you do.

I am finishing up a 25 day visit to Costa Rica this week, coming down to meet staff etc. in the new office that I have.  My business partner is a Tico (native Costa Rican), and I have learned alot from him over the last few weeks. Our office is basic. Lots of recycled hardware, usage of older monitors etc. etc. etc.. It started when I took my first call and I could hear the motorbikes ride by through the louvered windows and someone asked me where I was. “I cant work with SOUNDS from the outside coming in to my phone call”, I said to my biz partner JosePablo. He shook his head. When I sat down at my desk space with my Fancy Shmancy new black MacBook, it really stood out amongst the older technology. “This isnt going to work” I thought. I started to hunt for a power plug and had visions of my 22 Inch widescreen monitor,  ergonimic keyboard, and my oh so comfortable mouse back home. “I have to work like this for a MONTH?”.  I mentioned to my business partner that if I am going to be doing extensive work down here, I am gonna need to go out and get myself some “stuff”. He looked at me like I was nutz as he typed away while sitting on his 29 dollar Ikea (EPA down here) chair, uneven small desk and circa 1998 Dell 17 Inch.  “Why Man? what stuff do you need?”, he said. I replied, “I need to get some equipment to accomodate my needs, this is too uncomfortable”.  I started to continue explaining, but then it hit me. This guy is doing a GOOD Job. Our business here is new, and we  agreed we have to spend the least amount of money as we can while we get off the ground. We are BOOTSTRAPPING. I started to feel like a spoiled Gringo (American) brat as I reminised about how I use to have to work 10 years ago when I started my company out of my 1 bedroom apartment. Back then if I would have had half of what we have here I would have been ecstatic and felt like I had something good going on.

During my travels here, I realized that this way of working is common. His father for instance has a multimillion dollar Teak Wood plantation. If you judged the man by his accomodations based on the Super Startup standards we are use to you might judge him wrong or think less of him. Because money, equipment, qualified help, and opportunity are harder to come by here, people think differently, they act differently and they definitely SPEND differently. Things are recycled, and great care is put in to defining expenditures that are NEEDED versus luxurious.  Bootstrapping here is often the only way for anyone to get anything going.

As I prepare for my departure back to my comfy office back in the States, I realize that this experience has been good and that I have had a good opportunity to “go back in time” to my roots a little bit as a Bootstrapper. So fellow Bootstrappers! lets learn a lesson from our brethren in developing nations.  Be careful about how you define your needs and what you need to get the job done. I know based on these experiences I will spend a little more time on it from now on.

Ah….the life of a bootsrapper. You know who you are. Big ideas, limited capital, and a market window closing fast. I know the dynamics well. Since I have pretty much BootStrapped every successful venture in which I was the visionary, I decided to make my first post about this very subject.

Bootstrapping is not just a cool term for being rebellious or beating the odds. Bootstrapping is about cutting corners, crafting your vision, and being creative in order to see that vision unfold. Let’s examine the very business definition of a BootStrap found on the web:

Bootstrap

A situation in which an entrepreneur starts a company with little capital.An individual is said to be boot strapping when he or she attempts to found and build a company from personal finances or from the operating revenues of the new company. Compared to using venture capital, boot strapping can be beneficial as theentrepreneur is able to maintain control over all decisions. On the downside, however, this form of financing may place unnecessary financial risk on the entrepreneur. Furthermore, boot strapping may not provide enough investment for the company to become successful at a reasonable rate.

O.K. so what does that all mean to us? It means that we need to always examine the ups and downs and remind ourselves that as bootstrappers we aren’t just people that come up with an idea and go find investors to fund it. It doesn’t matter how good your ideas are, it doesn’t matter how much of a demand there is and it doesn’t matter how well you can sell the idea to an investor. What will really affect the the outcome of your venture is keeping yourself in touch with REALITY and VALUE. Seeing reality is on occasion, a tough thing for a bootstrapper.

I have been guilty of wanting my concept toturn in to a reality without real examination many times and I have had my “cereal” eaten as a result. Do your homework, personally reflect on and justify the value of your offering. Be sure to ask yourself tough questions. Do you really know your target market? When it is all said and done do is what I think I need really going to be enough money? Can we really pull off the timetables? Look yourself in the mirror and ask if you can really see the reality of how the future will unfold for you and what you really need to get there. Its also important to examine whether you really require some or all of the capital that you project or if there are ways to accomplish your goals in other ways without putting yourself in unnecessary risk. Don’t do it just once - make it a habit of rising above the distractions and the business plan and focus on the vision of where your concept is and where it can lead. If you can pull that together and still feel good about it, then continue on. If not then you may need to re-evaluate what you are doing. You will be a more effective bootstrapper if you do.