Bootstrapping Start-ups

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Posted by michael on Tuesday December 2, 2003 @06:14AM from the he-travels-the-fastest-who-travels-alone dept.

An anonymous reader writes "How many of us wanted to follow our dream and start our own start-up? How many of us thought that it can't be done due to costs, the need of big bucks and convincing some snotty VC? Well it didn't stop these guys. The most current success story is social networking software Huminity which has been on /. before. The recipe for their success was: open source, clustering $100/mo servers, using the web to find native translators instead of using over priced local ones and hiring GUI designers from popular skins download sites."

16 of 285 comments (clear)

Shame they didn't have someone design their site by cosmo7 · 2003-12-02 06:17 · Score: 4, Funny

Argh my eyes! They're still blinking!
And now... by BMonger · 2003-12-02 06:17 · Score: 5, Funny

... their bandwidth costs have forced them to close down.
i have a startup by Anonymous Coward · 2003-12-02 06:17 · Score: 4, Funny

and i am the only employee/CEO of the company....browse pr0n all day. haven't figured out how to get somebody to pay me for it though
From the article: by Steve+'Rim'+Jobs · 2003-12-02 06:18 · Score: 4, Funny

There are no more angels willing to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Sure, if by angels you mean idiots.
Re:Only problem... by Fulcrum+of+Evil · 2003-12-02 06:19 · Score: 5, Funny

Does anyone have a good suggestion for raising capital without forfeiting the rights to one's intellectual property?

I believe the typical strategy is to run up your credit cards, mortgage your house, and borrow from relatives.

--
"We returned the General to El Salvador, or maybe Guatemala, it's difficult to tell from 10,000 feet"
Re:Only problem... by Mr.+No+Skills · 2003-12-02 06:24 · Score: 2, Funny

All the normal ways you raise money:

Loan
Job
Lotto

VC is just a loan that you pay back with stock/IP. If its a good idea, you'll make so much that you won't mind giving a chunk (and maybe a large chunk) to someone else.

I'm heavily invested in Lotto myself.

--
Sleep is for the Weak
Only the arms dealer prospers. by Thud457 · 2003-12-02 06:25 · Score: 3, Funny

Contract out to a conservative Christian thinktank and sell them statistical reports on the amount of depravity on the net.

--
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
100/mo on servers by DaneelGiskard · 2003-12-02 06:25 · Score: 3, Funny

Hey...saving bucks on the servers / connection surely "pays off" now ;P
Re:Only problem... by christopherfinke · 2003-12-02 06:26 · Score: 2, Funny

I have several ideas that could make great money but they ultimately require money to make money.
Me too:

1. Get several million dollars for capital.
2. Deposit in savings accounts.
3. Wait for interest to accumulate.
4. Return initial millions.
5. Profit!

Easy as pie, and 100% guaranteed to turn a profit each and every time. Any investors?
Drugs! by MarcQuadra · 2003-12-02 06:31 · Score: 2, Funny

Go more than 500 miles away, make friends with local druggies, move up the chain, gain their trust. Do little deals for a while until you have the capital to pull a big one, rip off the supplier, move back home (or better yet, elsewhere) and sell off your stolen drugs while holding your ill-gained cash. Most mid-level pot/coke dealers aren't nearly as tough as they seem, they aren't going to go more than 500 miles out of their way to recoup under $5,000.

--
"Sometimes, I think Trent just needs a cup of hot chocolate and a blankie." -Tori Amos on Nine Inch Nails
1. Re:Drugs! by the_mad_poster · 2003-12-02 07:08 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Most mid-level pot/coke dealers aren't nearly as tough as they seem, they aren't going to go more than 500 miles out of their way to recoup under $5,000.
  
  I can't help but think that there's really only one way to learn this sort of thing...
  
  --
  Alito: A vote for Alito is a punch in the eye to put that bitch back in her place!
2. Re:Drugs! by Anonymous Coward · 2003-12-02 08:22 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  "Most mid-level pot/coke dealers aren't nearly as tough as they seem, they aren't going to go more than 500 miles out of their way to recoup under $5,000"
  
  Actually, we're tougher than you think, and thanks to your posting (and kind listing of where you live and who you work for), we know exactly where to find you.
  See you soon, dumbass.
  
  P.S. Some dude "99" contacted me. He wants to tag along and have a few words with you.
But how much does it cost? by Anonymous Coward · 2003-12-02 06:35 · Score: 1, Funny

The flashing graphics sent me into a trance ...
Re:Full Text - Karma Burn by OldMiner · 2003-12-02 06:42 · Score: 3, Funny

Here's a karma burn. MOD PARENT DOWN!

The site is large and not going to buckle under the load of Slashdot's linking it. Ads are few and non-obtrusive. No registration is required to view. Let alone the fact that copying the whole of the text is illegal. But, hey, since when did the typical /.er care about copyright infringement.

Oh, and the text is mutilated. Our friendly AC replaced "power" with "penis size" in the final sentence. Then again, maybe that's why it's being modded up as insightful?

--
You like splinters in your crotch? -Jon Caldara
Bootstrapping a startup... by EvilTwinSkippy · 2003-12-02 06:53 · Score: 4, Funny

Isn't is usually:
# Boot automatically after 30 years. timeout 30 # By default, boot the first entry. default 0 # Fallback to the second entry. fallback 1 title Working for Myself root (hd1,0) kernel /vmlinuz title Working for the Man # Always likes to put itself first hrumph rootnoverify (hd0,0) makeactive chainloader +1 title Begging for Change root (hd1,0) kernel /vmlinux home=/dev/null

--
"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
--Dr.W.Edwards Deming
Re:Shame they didn't have someone design their sit by Anonymous Coward · 2003-12-02 09:05 · Score: 1, Funny

Oh, the Huminity!