Slashdot Mirror
Bootstrapping Start-ups
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."
I have several ideas that could make great money but they ultimately require money to make money. Does anyone have a good suggestion for raising capital without forfeiting the rights to one's intellectual property?
Life is the leading cause of death in America.
Sometime you don't need money to make money, just the will to rummage in the trash.
There's always the story of Wallflower, a company that makes digital picture frames. They got their start by buying ancient laptops (considered scrap) and re-shaping them.
Sometimes, you can start a business with nothing but a little cleverness, and an order from the scrapyard.
Your main goal is to immediately quit your current job. If your goal really is to start something new, then in many cases (but not all)your dedication and discipline will weigh more heavily than your financing.
There's always the hours after your 9-to-5 (assuming it's a 9-to-5), and they are yours to spend as you wish. If you want to risk your time (and maybe a few of your buddies' time) on a venture that may or may not generate any income, the risk/benefit is pretty well in your favor.
Yes, it is hard to be disciplined enough to find the time when you go home, or to treat it like a real project rather than a hobby, but these are matters of self control, and usually within a person's own determination.
The moment you ask someone else to fund your venture, you are turning over some part of what determines success or failure to someone else.
Need a simple, easy to use data tier generator? http://www.gryphinsoftware.com/
The office space thing is absolutely wrong. Sorry, but it is.
I'm currently in an incubator - i.e. sharing space with about a dozen other small 'trying like hell' companies. It costs too much, but we and the other companies in there regularly get together to land contracts that any one of us individually couldn't get.
It's not just incubators that get this. I saw a similar effect when working in some serviced offices. Get to know the people around you, become known as a man that can, work will arrive all of it's own accord and suddenly the rent starts to look like a bit of a bargain.
Dave
I write a blog now, you should be afraid.
My partner and I have an online service that we have launched with basically no money. We are entering our third month, and we are breaking even already. Actually made a peep of a profit last month.
Since we have no money to play with, we find advertising to be the most difficult aspect of starting a business. We do the cheapest things imaginable, and quite often simply ask for established sites to support us, flat out. Google adwords helps also, especially since our keywords are cheap. For payment processing, we use paypal because we cannot afford the setup and gateway fees of a proper service.
The site design and hosting was actually the cheapest part, as he is a graphic designer and I sling code and already have adequate hosting for our service. Hehe, I would post a link but no way can I survive a slashdotting, even a mild one. We have just enough to get by on.
Anyway, we are not making a lot of money, but we started with almost nothing and are ( however pathetic ) profitable and growing rapidly. You just have to be creative, have a service people want, and be willing to beg for eyeballs sometimes. Good luck to anyone who is trying it. With a bit more money than we have to work with, you might do quite well. You will certainly get there faster than we are.