10 Important Ways I Bootstrapped My Startup

Photo by Oziel Gómez on Unsplash

As of May 27, 2021 our startup, which we refer to as SEO Turbo Booster, has been bootstrapped and not received capital from an investor, or at least a person or angel investor.

We’ve come close to getting investors since our founding about 3 years ago, but every time we get close, some divine providence occurs where we don’t need to get that investor.

That’s not to say we have not invested thousands of dollars or our time and energy. What I will cover here today gets into the nitty-gritty of bootstrap strategies (whether I intended for them) or not.

These point out the basic fact you don’t need capital to start every tech venture, and there may be some evidence that raising capital (initially) may lead to more harm than good.

1. Sell Before You Start
   So, what do I mean by “sell before you start”? It’s a basic premise I keep in my head where I believe it is worth selling tech before it exists. You may say that’s not so easy, but the truth of the matter is people are not sold on “technology or features”, but rather the “benefits” of the technology. You can sell people anything, especially when it is theoretical and especially when you have an audience. We have a product that has made about 50 sales in the recent past and it’s doing ok, but I have an idea on a new extension product. I say to customers do you want to buy this new product with benefit X? I want to invoke a response. Sometimes I get customers so worked up about the new product that the fact that it is not coming out fast enough is an issue, but they are ready to spend. Pre-selling or theoretical selling gives you a chance to understand where to spend the next dollars on tech. The big point here is don’t spend 3 years building a product and then ask customers if they need it or are willing to pay for it! That’s too late in the game. Pre-sell before not after.
2. Build It Yourself
   While our team does have a third-party software company we use, almost every concept we deliver to customers I first build a prototype system or design it on my own. I do have special powers because I can code. That used to be a problem for many, but now I am seeing systems like Bubble.io, where you create your own app without any programming. We are now calling these systems low-code or no-code, and they are for real…