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The 10k Bootstrap Challenge

bootstrapchallenge.com

41–50 of 82 posts

Re: The 10k Bootstrap Challenge

#41
post #7

I did this about a year ago. It took me about 2 months to get self sustaining and 6 months to reach my previous salary. Been thinking about writing it up, maybe I should go ahead and do it. Good luck, living off income from things you make is a great thing.

Since so many asked for it I decided to knock it out. Here's my story - http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3982830

Re: The 10k Bootstrap Challenge

#42
post #32

Hey guys! Thanks for the support. You caught me pretty early in the process, so not terribly much to show just yet, but I hope you'll stick around for the ride. If you're curious, the first product I'm trying to make profitable (and the one whose numbers I reference in the video) is at http://whattowrite.org But, as I say, the stats on it are pretty bleak at the moment (I need to improve the funnel performance by ~10…

Good concept. What is the writers site built with andhow will it generate revenue? Are you adopting a lean startup approach? Good luck.

Django/jquery/sendgrid, I have no idea (yet!), and yes. On the first idea the main stuff I'm pulling from lean is analytics, but if this one doesn't work out I'll do more custdev and in-person stuff as appropriate.

Re: The 10k Bootstrap Challenge

#43
post #32

Hey guys! Thanks for the support. You caught me pretty early in the process, so not terribly much to show just yet, but I hope you'll stick around for the ride. If you're curious, the first product I'm trying to make profitable (and the one whose numbers I reference in the video) is at http://whattowrite.org But, as I say, the stats on it are pretty bleak at the moment (I need to improve the funnel performance by ~10…

Good concept. What is the writers site built with andhow will it generate revenue? Are you adopting a lean startup approach? Good luck.

[deleted]

Re: The 10k Bootstrap Challenge

#44
post #29

I'm very curious about this guy's background. He seems to have experience in product development, marketing and customer acquisition. Having said that... I'm not sure how long ~16k USD (10k GBP) lasts in London but here (Boston) that would not give too many months of runway. Not using consulting for at least a short time he is giving himself a small window for success. I wish him the best of luck but his approach doe…

Living in the upper midwest US, 16k USD would probably give me a 16-month window. That's for a 1-bedroom apartment @ ~$500/month. Living in a 3-Bed w/ 2 other roommates would take it down to ~$300. Brutal winters, though..

I'm doing something similar in Portland and it's about ~$500/month with roommates. So I figure the same: my $12k will be a 12 month window.

Our winters are lovely, as long as you don't mind a little wet.

Re: The 10k Bootstrap Challenge

#45

I'm sort of doing this. I'm 4 months in, I've had one scrapped project, one failed project and one project which isn't really taking off. I'll be watching this with interest.

What I should have done is posted the fact that I'm doing the same to Hacker News. I'm guessing that if his blog gets enough traction, he'll succeed. Not because the product is great, but because this "10k GBP - can I make money" sideproject brings in the eyeballs.

While HN brings eyeballs it does not really bring profits unless you are innovating in the "productivity / programming / business" product space.

What it CAN do is give you decent SEO via reposts that helps diversify your inbound links resulting in better pageranking. My month of blogging has brought me from ~90th for "android dj app" to ~9th in google search.

Re: The 10k Bootstrap Challenge

#46
I'm a big fan of bootstrapping, allow me to add my own data point. I was the typical bored-at-BigCo guy but was afraid to completely jump into startups full time (I have a family). I decided to bootstrap my startup (mobile app) at the beginning of 2010, while working full time for 6 months. 6 months after that I quit my job full time as the income from the startup surpassed my SV engineering salary (made 75K in 6 months). In 2011, I traveled the world for 7 months with my wife while making my 2nd app, and my income went up to 340K. This year, I'm pretty much working ~20 hrs a week and I'm on track to hit at least 600K (already did 300K YTD). No full time employees, no VCs, no board, minimal expenses (macbook + iphone), no hassle.

I have friends and relatives who have done YC, gone the whole fundraising route, etc. Some who are fairly successful, but I wouldn't trade places with them in a second. I'm not saying bootstrapping is better, but if you are like me (risk averse and lazy) then it is definitely a legitimate option.

Re: The 10k Bootstrap Challenge

#47

I'm a big fan of bootstrapping, allow me to add my own data point. I was the typical bored-at-BigCo guy but was afraid to completely jump into startups full time (I have a family). I decided to bootstrap my startup (mobile app) at the beginning of 2010, while working full time for 6 months. 6 months after that I quit my job full time as the income from the startup surpassed my SV engineering salary (made 75K in 6 mon…

Congrats! Mind sharing what kind of apps you made?

Re: The 10k Bootstrap Challenge

#48
This is really interesting. I'm giving myself 6 months to get _something_ out there (I'm not sure what exactly, yet) or a job in a tech related field.

If it doesn't work, I'll have to start applying for jobs related to my degree (teaching).

Re: The 10k Bootstrap Challenge

#49
post #47

I'm a big fan of bootstrapping, allow me to add my own data point. I was the typical bored-at-BigCo guy but was afraid to completely jump into startups full time (I have a family). I decided to bootstrap my startup (mobile app) at the beginning of 2010, while working full time for 6 months. 6 months after that I quit my job full time as the income from the startup surpassed my SV engineering salary (made 75K in 6 mon…

Congrats! Mind sharing what kind of apps you made?

Its in my HN profile
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