Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?
61–70 of 139 posts
Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?
#62Can't believe no one has mentioned Hewlett-Packard or Apple Computer...
Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?
#63Pure conjecture, but is it reasonable to think that bootstrapped companies might be more likely to be bought out than ones backed by major VC bucks? I suspect a disproportionate number of bootstrapped companies that fall into the might-become-$1BN category get an offer they can't turn down at some point before they arrive.
Agreed.. bootstrapped companies mean a much higher % of the business is owned by founders (if not all of it) resulting in lower acquisition prices needed for it to still be huge outcome for the founders.
Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?
#64Walmart was bootstrapped, starting with a single five-and-dime store. It went public, but to the best of my knowledge, never took on institutional investment prior to that. Say what you will about the company and its business practices today, but the founder's accomplishment was remarkable.
Sam Walton's biography is one of the best business books I've ever read: http://amazon.com/Sam-Walton-Made-In-America/dp/0553562835
What's really instructive about his story is that he started his first retail store when he was in his mid-late 20s, sold that and earned his first stripes in his early 30s. And it wouldn't be a decade later until he started Walmart in his early 40s.
Walmart was a culmination of several decades of Walton's life that he dedicated to mastering, and dominating, retail.
Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?
#65Lots of non-technology companies. Out of tech companies -- Craigslist, Atlassian, 37Signals, possibly MailChimp. Fringe examples -- Indeed sold for $1B and only took a small amount of later-stage funding [1] from USV. WhatsApp took $8M from Sequoia but apparently didn't spend any of it [2]. [1] http://avc.com/2012/09/indeed/ [2] http://forbesindia.com/article/the-worlds-billionaires/the-$...
Is 37Signals worth $1B?
Actually, they're valued at $100B.
http://signalvnoise.com/posts/1941-press-release-37signals-v...
Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?
#66It was started in 1837, so I am not sure you will care, but I strongly suspect John Deere was bootstrapped. They are worth more than $7 billion.
http://www.deere.com/wps/dcom/en_US/corporate/our_company/ab...?
http://www.deere.com/wps/dcom/en_US/corporate/our_company/in...
Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?
#67Chobani is a hugely profitable, capital-intensive billion-dollar company that was 100% bootstrapped. http://hbr.org/2013/10/chobanis-founder-on-growing-a-start-u...
I think the most interesting part of this post's comments is how everyone views bootstrapping differently. In Chobani's case, per the article, they didn't take in any outside equity, but they did take in outside investment. It just happened to be structured as debt.
Nothing wrong with that, just found it interesting. Good reminder that there are a number of different ways to grow an amazing company.
Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?
#68Walmart was bootstrapped, starting with a single five-and-dime store. It went public, but to the best of my knowledge, never took on institutional investment prior to that. Say what you will about the company and its business practices today, but the founder's accomplishment was remarkable.
Sam Walton's biography is one of the best business books I've ever read: http://amazon.com/Sam-Walton-Made-In-America/dp/0553562835 What's really instructive about his story is that he started his first retail store when he was in his mid-late 20s, sold that and earned his first stripes in his early 30s. And it wouldn't be a decade later until he started Walmart in his early 40s. Walmart was a culmination of several…
I do not understand. When you write, "earned his stripes," what exactly do you mean?
Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?
#69Walmart was bootstrapped, starting with a single five-and-dime store. It went public, but to the best of my knowledge, never took on institutional investment prior to that. Say what you will about the company and its business practices today, but the founder's accomplishment was remarkable.
Sam Walton's biography is one of the best business books I've ever read: http://amazon.com/Sam-Walton-Made-In-America/dp/0553562835 What's really instructive about his story is that he started his first retail store when he was in his mid-late 20s, sold that and earned his first stripes in his early 30s. And it wouldn't be a decade later until he started Walmart in his early 40s. Walmart was a culmination of several…
One of the greatest(meaning influential) deals in the 2nd half of the 20th century, in my opinion, was Walmart's acquisition of Big K
http://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/23/business/kuhn-s-big-k-stor...
Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sam Walton's biography is one of the best business books I've ever read: http://amazon.com/Sam-Walton-Made-In-America/dp/0553562835 What's really instructive about his story is that he started his first retail store when he was in his mid-late 20s, sold that and earned his first stripes in his early 30s. And it wouldn't be a decade later until he started Walmart in his early 40s. Walmart was a culmination of several…
I do not understand. When you write, "earned his stripes," what exactly do you mean?
It's a military reference. Sergeants (I think) have a striped insignia, and it would mean a bump in rank (experience, knowledge, skill).
Edit: Not to say he was in the military, it's a metaphor for how Walton gained experience and 'rank' in retail.