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Bootstrapping: How to
Start a Business With
Little to no Money
Bootstrapping, also known as self-funding, is a popular
way for entrepreneurs to start a business with little to no
external funding.
ootstrapping, also mize the amount of capital you
known as self-fund- need to get started and reduce
ing, is a popular way your risk.
for entrepreneurs to
Bstart a business with Leverage existing re
little to no external funding. It sources
involves using personal sav- One of the advantages of boot-
ings, credit cards, and other strapping is that you can lever-
available resources to get a age existing resources to get
business off the ground. your business off the ground.
This might include using your
While it can be a challenging personal computer, phone, or
approach, bootstrapping can other equipment to get started.
also be a great way to maintain
control over your business and You can also look for free or
build a solid foundation for low-cost tools and services
future growth. In this article, that can help you to manage
your business. For example,
we’ll explore some tips and you might use free accounting
strategies for bootstrapping a software or social media plat-
business. forms to market your product
or service.
Start small
When you’re bootstrapping a Focus on revenue
business, it’s important to start When you’re bootstrapping a
small and focus on building a business, generating revenue
solid foundation. This means is critical. This means focus-
focusing on the essentials and ing on sales and marketing
avoiding unnecessary expens- from day one. You can start by
es. Start by creating a mini- reaching out to your personal
mum viable product (MVP) network and asking for refer-
that can be tested with early rals. back into your business to fuel
adopters. growth.
You might also attend local
This will help you to validate events and meetups to net- Be creative with your
your idea and make adjust- work with potential custom- marketing
ments based on feedback. By ers. As you start to generate Marketing can be a major
starting small, you can mini- revenue, reinvest that money expense for startups, but it
18 IN THE MIND OF STARTUPS
