Are you a sexy bootstrapper?

Filed in archive Bootstrapping Trends on October 20, 2007

Sramana Mitra has written this great post about bootstrapping trends. However, there's some question in my mind whether it's ever really gone out of style.

Who are today's bootstrappers, especially in Silicon Valley?

• Entrepreneurs who have raised big outside investment in the past only to see their share in their venture diluted and who are determined not to let it happen again.

• Entrepreneurs who have built successful small companies and have no interest in Venture Capital because of bad experiences in the past

• Entrepreneurs who have worked for another company in the past where they have built good customer relationships leading to commitments for purchase of a new product or service of their own

One reason for the trend toward bootstrapping, according to Mitra and Gerry Langeler, is the diverse motives entrepreneurs have for building companies versus the motives of Venture Capital firms, who are focused only on making money for themselves and their investors.

Other reasons entrepreneurs might have for starting a venture:

• A vision to create a particular product or service

• A desire to grow a major company or brand

• The desire to be their own boss

• To control their own destiny

• Make a major impact or, as Guy Kawasaki suggests, change the world

• Create a good living doing something they enjoy.

My own ambitions as an entrepreneur have always included some mix of all of the above.

For some more good reasons to take the bootstrapping approach in particular see Greg Gianforte's "eight solid reasons why Bootstrapping will consistently deliver better results than the 'fund-and-burn' model" and Guy Kawasaki's "The Art of Bootstrapping".