Austin-based entrepreneur and knowledge management expert Bijoy Goswami talks about three complimentary energies or personalities that come together to form the team that pushes the bootstrap venture to the next level.

Goswami's vision of bootstrapping is about social networking and not the lone entrepreneur laboring in obscurity to bring his company to life.

The three personalities Goswami describes borrowed to some extent from Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point about the way in which "social epidemics" occur are:

1. The maven-an individual who Goswami says sees the world through a lens of knowledge

2. The relater-a person with a large social network from which they gather information

3. The evangelist-a charismatic individual interested in sharing the knowledge her/she has discovered



Which one of these personalities might you be and which one might describe a friend or business partner. Goswami suggests all three are integral to generating the energy needed to take a bootstrapped venture to the next level.

Watch the video clip above as Goswami explains the concept of the maven, the relater and the evangelist who together create the impetus of behind bootstrapping or, as Gladwell describes it in the subtitle of his book How little things can make a big difference.