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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."
... their bandwidth costs have forced them to close down.
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"
What is their business model? Selling people t-shirts while they use the software for free?
I'm one guy. I also sell t-shirts and give away software. I'm a startup too!
If you're a start up, like me, do not, repeat, *do not* make the government your first contract. They will bleed you dry with all the waiting due to red tape and politics.
I now understand the $700 toilet seat:
* $5.95 for materials
* $694.05 for overhead
Completely justified IMHO
On the negative side... In a country such a Canada where you can claim R&D tax credits, you can only claim these credits on real expenses - so if you pay yourself (next to) nothing, you won't be able to claim any of that as a tax credit...
Platform independent bug tracking software
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/
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.
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.
Those with short attention spans are doomed to repeat recent history.
Unless your startup needs a factory, gobs of employees, or other extensive capital, you don't need megabucks, only kilobucks. No need for snotty VCs, selling off rights to future IP, etc. It's still hard, but 95% of existing businesses have done it.
You just have to start small. One of the worst legacies the dot.boom left us was the general perception that businesses have to be large to be successful. Nothing could be further from the truth. I don't have the current statistics, but last I heard them a few years ago, 80% of businesses in the US had 20 or fewer employees. In other words, small business is king.
I've worked closely with many individuals who have started businesses from scratch. It's not cheap, but it doesn't require millions from venture capitalists. Your credit cards, retirement savings, relatives and a trip to the local bank are often all that's needed to start out small. And small is all that you need. You'll be working your butt off eighteen hours a day, but you can do it.
If this is software, you've got a headstart over most other businesses, since you don't need to carry inventory, rent warehouses, or run factories. All you need are salesmen and developers. The developers may be expensive, but your salesmen will be cheap, since they'll be bringing in their own paychecks. As a bonus, your product is infinitely reproducible at no cost. Heck, you can even contract out development to bring in cash flow while your main product is getting ready.
Your hardware isn't going to be that expensive, if you stop thinking like a gamer. You can get away with old i386 or Sparc5 boxes for your servers. If the software is ultimately an end-user product, you'll need a variety of current hardware to test on, but otherwise it's a luxury you can't afford.
Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
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!