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We bootstrapped to $11M in ARR

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Re: We bootstrapped to $11M in ARR

#161

Post by iambateman »

tfang17 wrote: post #140

Seems to be a lot of questions about how bootstrapped startups handle customer support. I'm the cofounder of Eureka Surveys. We're bootstrapped, profitable, and just crossed 1M+ users. We've had an amazing experience hiring customer support in the Philippines. I have a thread about it on Twitter: https://twitter.com/t0mstah/status/1356296043009253382 The tl;dr is that you can hire cheap ($3.50/hr), high quality virtu…

Hey Tommy, I DMed you but figured I would ask here too...what service do you use for VA?

Re: We bootstrapped to $11M in ARR

#162

Post by moneywoes »

bootstrapper101 wrote: post #127
baxtr wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh man. Wow. Incredible. I am really really glad it worked out well for you. I am in the same position like you were. I never want to go back to corporate hell, so my ideas have to work :D What was your biggest lesson? Is there one thing you would do differently now if you could?

If you love what you are doing, it will give you the drive to keep doing it. Listen to Naval's podcast about "How to get rich". He knows how to put ideas much better than me. There are no shortcuts and if I tell you my winning lottery number after claiming the prize, it's not worth anything. Discover how you can provide value in your own unique way.

I agree with your premise that everyone has to provide value in their own unique way. However, what skills primed you for success? You mentioned knowing the equation between CLV and CAC. Any similar knowledge? What about on the software side? I imagine marketing (PPC,SEO) is more important than tech stack.

Re: We bootstrapped to $11M in ARR

#163

Post by moneywoes »

bootstrapper101 wrote: post #138
jeffreyrogers wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A couple of years ago I started writing down ideas whenever they popped into my head. Didn't really make a conscious effort to brainstorm them or anything, but after a while they start becoming a frequent thing. I probably get a couple a week and now have a really long list of things. Some are obviously bad, others require too much outside knowledge or equipment I don't have, but maybe 10-20% are promising and doable…

Nothing beats just getting down and building something end to end. As you do it more and more, you get better and faster. I just came up with an analogy of trying to be successful at startup: Imagine someone who is just born in prehistoric rugged terrain who wants to reach some magical place. You don't know even how to crawl. There is some food and clues all over the place about how to reach the magical place. You ha…

> You immediate focus should be gaining skills and pace. You will start by learning to crawl, walk, jump, climb, track your path, get better instincts, find food, look for clues, follow clues.

RE my earlier question I’d really appreciate it if you could provide more insight into this.

So far I’ve been building MVPs in Django ( quick and easy) CRUD mainly, trying to improve copy writing, building better communication skills ( being more succinct), learning about SEO ( evergreen for marketing) and building paid marketing campaigns through FB. What else would you suggest?

Re: We bootstrapped to $11M in ARR

#165

Post by frongpik »

bootstrapper101 wrote: post #7
eric4smith wrote: post #2

The vast majority of businesses.... 1. Are outside the valley 2. Started with minimal or no funding 3. Hire a ton of employees overall 4. Give their founders comfortable lives. 5. Do their thing very quietly without anyone really knowing. 6. You've never heard about.

I run one of these companies. USD 50M+ ARR, USD 20M+ profit. 3 people company. Could grow 10x if we want to. But we are enjoying staying low and enjoying our family lives. Excellent article by the Canary guys. They seem like really honest people. We didn't raise any money. Only focus was how to do faster iterations. By the time 25 of my ideas didn't succeed, every iteration became very fast. Idea to launch in 3 month…

How did you get to the decision makers to pitch your idea? Unless you were already well connected, I presume it wasn't easy to get attention from the right people.

Re: We bootstrapped to $11M in ARR

#166

Post by goatherders »

tfang17 wrote: post #140

Seems to be a lot of questions about how bootstrapped startups handle customer support. I'm the cofounder of Eureka Surveys. We're bootstrapped, profitable, and just crossed 1M+ users. We've had an amazing experience hiring customer support in the Philippines. I have a thread about it on Twitter: https://twitter.com/t0mstah/status/1356296043009253382 The tl;dr is that you can hire cheap ($3.50/hr), high quality virtu…

Saved for later, thank you for sharing.

Re: We bootstrapped to $11M in ARR

#167

Post by artichikin »

mizzao wrote: post #106

Is it possible to bootstrap a consumer startup in the same way as a B2B SaaS? Seems a lot harder, given that revenue from day one is not easy.

Yes -- we've been bootstrapping our diet tracker cronometer for the last 10 years. It's a much slower pace, but nice growing & operating on own terms. It took the first five years before I could quit my regular job -- but now hitting $3M ARR. Designed an awesome workplace in a ski town and have been slowly recruiting other ski-bum / devs to our way of life.

Re: We bootstrapped to $11M in ARR

#168

Post by tfang17 »

tfang17 wrote: post #140

Seems to be a lot of questions about how bootstrapped startups handle customer support. I'm the cofounder of Eureka Surveys. We're bootstrapped, profitable, and just crossed 1M+ users. We've had an amazing experience hiring customer support in the Philippines. I have a thread about it on Twitter: https://twitter.com/t0mstah/status/1356296043009253382 The tl;dr is that you can hire cheap ($3.50/hr), high quality virtu…

Can connect y'all directly with our source in the Philippines if you DM me on Twitter!

Better to go straight to the source in my opinion, rather than using something like Fiverr. Going direct is cheaper, allows you to interview around a bit more easily, and helps build a more direct, long-term connection with the VA as an employer instead of as a contractor.

Re: We bootstrapped to $11M in ARR

#169

Post by stickfigure »

teachrdan wrote: post #155
_xnmw wrote: post #150

The best part? Every penny of that $11M ARR is yours to spend however you wish. Nobody's going to question you if you take your company's money and spend it on a private helicopter or a summer beach home in Cyprus (all easily affordable for $11M). If you had accepted even a tiny pre-seed investment, you wouldn't have that freedom - the company's money is not yours, and although you could live comfortably on executive…

In the US context, of the company is an LLC then you can't just spend its money like it's yours without "piercing the veil" and jeopardizing your LLC status. But point taken! You don't have to answer to VC whose interests don't necessarily align with yours.

> if the company is an LLC then you can't just spend its money like it's yours

You can't spend out of the company's bank account, but you can take distributions from the company. At that point it's yours.

Re: We bootstrapped to $11M in ARR

#170

Post by cambalache »

tfang17 wrote: post #140

Seems to be a lot of questions about how bootstrapped startups handle customer support. I'm the cofounder of Eureka Surveys. We're bootstrapped, profitable, and just crossed 1M+ users. We've had an amazing experience hiring customer support in the Philippines. I have a thread about it on Twitter: https://twitter.com/t0mstah/status/1356296043009253382 The tl;dr is that you can hire cheap ($3.50/hr), high quality virtu…

- Cheap, high-quality, free-from-exploitation. Pick 2.

Spare me the "Life is cheaper in the 3-world non-sense"

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