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My eighth year as a bootstrapped founder

mtlynch.io

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Re: My eighth year as a bootstrapped founder

#31

Post by Joel_Mckay »

jyscao wrote: post #18
switz wrote: post #12

Thanks for being so transparent. As a fellow solo bootstrapper, I think the thing people most often misunderstand is the relative inconsistency (income, "wins", the camaraderie, etc.) so it's nice for you to bare all. That being said, you do get the consistency of independence and autonomy. As I watch my peers deal with crappy work environments, losing their jobs, and other bullshit, I just keep chugging along: self-…

This is the path I want to take too. Do you find it difficult to focus on the marketing and sales side of the business rather than the building part?

In general, most firms form relationships with marketing lead generation companies. i.e. you pay for customers interested in buying something, and pay a reward if a sale is made.

Don't bother spamming with FAANG, as the conversion rates are still hypothetical for many. Go to trade shows, and note how sales people operate with the public... hint, the big deals are never done on the floor area.

The sales conversion rates and tax postures will determine if this type of business is viable in your area. =3

Re: My eighth year as a bootstrapped founder

#32

Post by ssenssei »

mtlynch wrote: post #25
mrdependable wrote: post #21

I've had a similar journey to yours. Started January 1st 2019, early 30s, had a second kid. Loving every minute of it, though I do wonder when the fun is going to end. Every year I'm surprised the business keeps growing. This year my goal is to diversify to try and ease that gnawing anxiety, but every time I try working on something else I feel guilty about ignoring what's already been working for me. Tempted to just…

I recommend having an initial talk with a broker if you're thinking about it at all. The brokers I've met are happy to talk if you have a profitable business, even if you don't plan on selling anytime soon, and you don't have to sign anything to commit to them. They can talk to you about what you can do to prepare for an exit even if you don't expect that to happen for several years (and it might take you several yea…

this feels a lot like an ad or promotion, but the core idea is something I have never thought about.

Re: My eighth year as a bootstrapped founder

#33

Post by mtlynch »

ssenssei wrote: post #32
mtlynch wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recommend having an initial talk with a broker if you're thinking about it at all. The brokers I've met are happy to talk if you have a profitable business, even if you don't plan on selling anytime soon, and you don't have to sign anything to commit to them. They can talk to you about what you can do to prepare for an exit even if you don't expect that to happen for several years (and it might take you several yea…

this feels a lot like an ad or promotion, but the core idea is something I have never thought about.

I can see how it comes across that way. I have no relationship with Quiet Light except as a satisfied client.

Re: My eighth year as a bootstrapped founder

#34

Post by mtlynch »

LightBug1 wrote: post #23

I like these kind of stories. Insight into these situation is inspiring. When I hang up the gloves in my current role I'll probably do something similar. But, come on ... isn't it just a touch disingenuous to call this a bootstrap situation? I assume an ex-Google developer jettisoned with a decent safety net. Perhaps I'm wrong. But I have a very different idea of what bootstrapping is. Anyway, kudos to you ... making…

Thanks for reading!

> But, come on ... isn't it just a touch disingenuous to call this a bootstrap situation?

> I assume an ex-Google developer jettisoned with a decent safety net. Perhaps I'm wrong. But I have a very different idea of what bootstrapping is.

Yeah, I agree and wish I had a better term. I've heard people talking about "bootstrapping" a business with $200k+, and I roll my eyes.

I used to call these updates "My Xth Year as a Solo Developer" but that stopped making sense when I was working with a team.

Re: My eighth year as a bootstrapped founder

#35

Post by _slih »

The alignment framework is something I wish I'd thought about earlier. I spent months chasing outreach channels that felt like a grind because I was copying what other people said worked instead of figuring out what fit my own strengths. The moment I stopped doing that and leaned into what I actually know, conversations started happening naturally. Turns out people can tell when you care about the thing you're selling vs when you're just running a playbook.

Also appreciated the honesty about the $50K goal vs $8.2K reality. That gap is familiar.

Re: My eighth year as a bootstrapped founder

#36

Post by leros »

Looking back, how do you feel about your slate of past projects?

I'm curious as TinyPilot is your most successful project and it looks like the most business-oriented thing you built: as in, its a product aimed at serious businesses. Whereas Zestful is a niche micro-saas and Is It Keto is a niche website. Perhaps I'm characterizing things wrong, but that's my rough perception.

Re: My eighth year as a bootstrapped founder

#37

Post by asdev »

swalsh wrote: post #27

I think that "align your business with your passion" is a really important factor that divides the succesful from the not. When I look at Pieter Levels, he doesn't really seem to build ideas to make money. His projects seem to start off as play, and eventually they evolve into something new he can charge for.

Levels has no passion for his projects. They're all quick grifts.

Re: My eighth year as a bootstrapped founder

#39

Post by subhobroto »

mtlynch wrote: post #11
FiberBundle wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you see the solo bootstrapping landscape going forward? In what ways do you see agentic coding changing things?

> How do you see the solo bootstrapping landscape going forward? In what ways do you see agentic coding changing things? It's hard to say. I think it could go either way. My optimistic take is that it has a similar effect to cloud computing on solo bootstrapping. If you tried to start a SaaS company in 2005, you'd have a hard time because in addition to knowing software, you'd also have to know how to provision serve…

> I actually have a hard time imagining B2B SaaS dying because AI makes it easy to roll your own tools

Agreed. I think software engineers are misunderstanding why the SaaSpocalypse is (has?) happening.

It feels like software engineers think the SaaSpocalypse is due to technical commodity: "Oh no! Claude can bang out a fully functioning Slack/Monday.com over a weekend! There goes Slack/Monday.com"

The selloff is being driven by the "Seat Replacement" fear: SaaS charges "per seat" or "per human user" - but if an agent can do the work of X (>1) humans, then "seats" sold shrink, reducing the valuation and profitability of SaaS companies that are driven by seat multiples.

This has no impact on the valuation or stress of bootstrapped businesses like yours where you don't have to answer to either VCs or shareholders. It's more likely bootstrapped businesses will get a revival as people seek to work closer with founders who are focused on building a sustainable, long term value add than an unsustainable, blitzscaling play.

In fact, if I am not mistaken, it will reduce the edge VC funded companies have over bootstrapped businesses like yours (eg: the CAC is set on a more level field when blitzscaling funds reduce or disappear).

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