Wouldn't LucasFilm count?
Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?
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Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?
#32Shutterstock didn't take any funding for I believe 8 years (and when they did it was at a huge valuation) and then this year they IPO'd for >$1B. Jon Oringer, the CEO of Shutterstock, is a big fan of bootstrapping.
http://www.inc.com/christine-lagorio/bootstrappers-bible-shu...
Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?
#33Quizlet isn't quite worth a billion yet (I think they're somewhere between $100 - $500 million) But they haven't taken a penny of investment money.
Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?
#34GoDaddy was entirely bootstrapped before a large chunk of it was sold to private equity firms in 2011. The founder self-funded it based on a $MM sale of a previous company, though - so they're awfully nice boots to be strapped up by. :) As a result of being bootstrapped, the 2011 sale single-handedly put its founder, Bob Parsons, on the Forbes billionaires list: http://www.forbes.com/profile/bob-parsons/
I am pretty sure Parson's previous company, Parson's Technology, was boostrapped as well. He used, and apparently nearly lost, the millions he earned on that sale to fund GoDaddy until it was profitable.
Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?
#35Virgin Group was born out of Richard Branson's Virgin Record stores. The stores started as a mail-order business, advertising in his own magazine, which he started at 16. The name Virgin is a reference to his and his business partners' inexperience in business when they opened their first record store.
Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?
#36It would be interesting to know whether companies that are bootstrapped are statistically more likely to succeed than VC-backed companies. Do founders who risk their own capital have fundamentally different approaches to business than founders who are spending other peoples' money (VC funds)? Do they do more market research before starting their companies? Do they recruit different kinds of employees? Do the founders have more business experience? Does anyone know if any research has been done on this?
Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?
#37Another non-technology company, longtime in the making is Arthrex - http://www.businessobserverfl.com/print/ENTREPRENEUR-OF-THE-...
"Schmieding takes a shot at those who choose the easy route to entrepreneurial success, writing: “The era of personal sacrifice and risk taking has been replaced today with venture capital and IPOs that use other people’s money as collateral"
Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?
#38I don't know if this counts, but Veeva Systems IPOd at north of $4 billion on a grand total of $4m in funding
Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?
#39I'm not 100% sure, but I think IKEA was bootstrapped for pretty long time. But I can't find any reference about this:(
Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?
#40Virgin Group was born out of Richard Branson's Virgin Record stores. The stores started as a mail-order business, advertising in his own magazine, which he started at 16. The name Virgin is a reference to his and his business partners' inexperience in business when they opened their first record store.
But majority of their long-term success has been attributed to their ability to borrow money from larger banks like City. The growth of Virgin Records could not have happened without their battles with the banks.