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The 10k Bootstrap Challenge

bootstrapchallenge.com

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Re: The 10k Bootstrap Challenge

#61

Post by bignoggins »

nanijoe wrote: post #53
bignoggins wrote: post #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 mon…

Oh the paradox...The thought of bootstrapping being for the lazy and risk averse.

it's for the risk averse because you can bootstrap and keep your job. it's for the lazy because your limited time forces you to attack much smaller problems and make compromises, which im my opinion is a GOOD thing.

Re: The 10k Bootstrap Challenge

#62

Post by mietek »

bignoggins wrote: post #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 mon…

Thank you for being an inspiration.

Re: The 10k Bootstrap Challenge

#63

Post by sayemm »

bignoggins wrote: post #59
sparknlaunch12 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Congrats on living the dream! Slightly off the main topic but how much marketing and development is required to achieve the type of figures you are talking about? Typically there seems to be a massive amount of money spent on promoting an app into the top 100 list. If you knew nothing about mobile apps today - where would you start? (Or would you start at all?)

I haven't spent any money and barely any time on marketing. Development I did all the coding myself and eventually hired a graphic designer part time. The thing is I'm not usually on the Top 100 list (or even Top 300 for that matter), I just charge more for my apps (my price points are $3, $5, $8). That's the best kept secret of the app store. Sure the Top 100 apps make a ton of money, but there is a growing class of…

I think it's very smart, and not just for the risk-averse and lazy... starting small and earning your first stripes as an entrepreneur may prove to be a solid stepping stone to pursue bigger ventures in the future, I think. And now that you're financially independent, you won't have to worry about money holding you back. Gabriel Weinberg (DuckDuckGo founder), Ben Milne (Dwolla founder), Nat Turner (Invite Media founder), the list goes on... were all proven bootstrapped entrepreneurs before they worked on their first venture-backed startup.

Congrats on your success, do you recommend any good books or resources for bootstrapping/marketing apps?

I'm a big fan of Rob Walling's book/blog.

Re: The 10k Bootstrap Challenge

#64

Post by bignoggins »

sayemm wrote: post #63
bignoggins wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't spent any money and barely any time on marketing. Development I did all the coding myself and eventually hired a graphic designer part time. The thing is I'm not usually on the Top 100 list (or even Top 300 for that matter), I just charge more for my apps (my price points are $3, $5, $8). That's the best kept secret of the app store. Sure the Top 100 apps make a ton of money, but there is a growing class of…

I think it's very smart, and not just for the risk-averse and lazy... starting small and earning your first stripes as an entrepreneur may prove to be a solid stepping stone to pursue bigger ventures in the future, I think. And now that you're financially independent, you won't have to worry about money holding you back. Gabriel Weinberg (DuckDuckGo founder), Ben Milne (Dwolla founder), Nat Turner (Invite Media found…

pretty much followed Rob's advice to the T

Re: The 10k Bootstrap Challenge

#65

Post by BiWinning »

robfitz wrote: 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…

Affiliate marketing bro. I make six figures doing it. Not saying it's a great long term solution but in your situation you could turn a profit quite quickly potentially. Just look around at various affiliate programs and see if you can come up with a solution to add value to the customer experience. Maybe just a simple price comparison site. Then drive traffic to it, paid works well as long as you can do it profitably. If you can turn a profit on an Adwords advertising campaign you may well be on your way to a tidy income.

Re: The 10k Bootstrap Challenge

#66

Post by sayemm »

bignoggins wrote: post #64
sayemm wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's very smart, and not just for the risk-averse and lazy... starting small and earning your first stripes as an entrepreneur may prove to be a solid stepping stone to pursue bigger ventures in the future, I think. And now that you're financially independent, you won't have to worry about money holding you back. Gabriel Weinberg (DuckDuckGo founder), Ben Milne (Dwolla founder), Nat Turner (Invite Media found…

pretty much followed Rob's advice to the T

good to know! thanks

Re: The 10k Bootstrap Challenge

#67

Post by clarky07 »

sparknlaunch12 wrote: post #58
clarky07 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Thanks for sharing. Awesome. Any advice for us dreamers? Can it be repeated?

Give it a shot. Look at bignoggins advice above. Go for smaller niches instead of trying to be angry birds. There are lots of very useful things that can be done on a phone or tablet. Make something useful that somebody is likely to type into the search on the app store. It can definitely be repeated.

Also, don't worry about there already being an app that does that. There are 600k+ apps. It's been done. But you can find a niche where the best app isn't that great, or at least where you can do it a little better. Make a great app, and make it look great. Don't try submitting things that look terrible. They will get lost in the noise at this point.

Re: The 10k Bootstrap Challenge

#68

Post by jbigelow76 »

bignoggins wrote: post #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 mon…

Congrats man, I hope to be writing a post like yours in the next 6-18 months.

Re: The 10k Bootstrap Challenge

#70

Post by sparknlaunch12 »

clarky07 wrote: post #67
sparknlaunch12 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for sharing. Awesome. Any advice for us dreamers? Can it be repeated?

Give it a shot. Look at bignoggins advice above. Go for smaller niches instead of trying to be angry birds. There are lots of very useful things that can be done on a phone or tablet. Make something useful that somebody is likely to type into the search on the app store. It can definitely be repeated. Also, don't worry about there already being an app that does that. There are 600k+ apps. It's been done. But you can…

What tools do you recommend to start?
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