So who is Nathan and what is his style of bootstrapping.

Well I found this great post by programmer and independent contractor Nathan Bowers at his website nathanbowers.com.

It sums up the bootstrapping approach fairly well including warnings about some of the missteps he...and I...made in earlier ventures.

Specifically, Nathan suggests:
• Boil down your business idea into the simplest form possible
• Market what you've got as soon as possible.
• Finally, make sure your product or service is something that can make money...immediately.

The idea of bootstrapping, according to Greg Gianforte, is to help "initiate the critical sales learning process sooner" even though Gianforte gave his first product away to promote usage.

Regardless of which path you take, bootstrapping must develop cash flow for reinvestment into your company...even if your first venture is only partially related or unrelated to the business you intend to build.