Very nice read, I can relate to everything you write.
Why We're Not Raising Funds
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Re: Why We're Not Raising Funds
#12It really resonated with me, at Coinkite.com we chose to bootstrap and have been turning away offers for 18 months now. I'm not fully opposed to taking money, It's just been great to focus 100% of our time on Product.
We've managed to get 160,000 active wallets (funded), 1000+ devs using the API, 8000 debit cards and terminals in over 30 countries with very little money.
it's amazing how far you can stretch your own money specially if your business has some revenue form day one.
I don't rule out eventually raising for accelerating growth.
_Note: I'm a terrible ESL writer._
Re: Why We're Not Raising Funds
#13Good read but it may be nice to add the word "yet" to the end. The author clearly says at the end that 'So, if it's going to happen, it will be because they will have knocked on our door, not me knocking on 50 of their doors" I have a very small web based business that has the potential to be a $50MM business as well but I am always worried about the same thing if investors even care to blink unless we promise a $1B…
You're right, edited.
Re: Why We're Not Raising Funds
#14Genuinely non-snarky question. It looks like a standard calculator and conversion app, and it looks like most of the implementation I could imagine being in a calculator app is already done. Why would you even think of raising funds? You thought it was a good idea to write the blog post, so it obviously crossed your mind.
Exactly my thought.
I went to their website, tried to find non-trivial calculations and I couldn't find any. I really don't know why there is even a question of whether to raise funding or not.
Re: Why We're Not Raising Funds
#15Genuinely non-snarky question. It looks like a standard calculator and conversion app, and it looks like most of the implementation I could imagine being in a calculator app is already done. Why would you even think of raising funds? You thought it was a good idea to write the blog post, so it obviously crossed your mind.
afandian,
This app is just an MVP, the future hopefully is much bigger. On of the reasons is "because it's what startups do" and "everybody thinks that's the next step". I do have needs (development, content creation and in-house marketing team), but none of them are a must-have, I can do it a bit slower with whatever means I have at my disposal.
Re: Why We're Not Raising Funds
#16A lot of people believe that raising capital is completely necessary for your business to succeed. However, many do it and achieve great success. Not raising money slows growth in most cases but what you gain in control and complete ownership outweigh the the risk. It's not for everyone but I feel like raising money is the benchmark for success in people's minds. Which to me has always been silly. Raising funds is not for every business. Good read. Wish you guys all the luck.
Re: Why We're Not Raising Funds
#17Genuinely non-snarky question. It looks like a standard calculator and conversion app, and it looks like most of the implementation I could imagine being in a calculator app is already done. Why would you even think of raising funds? You thought it was a good idea to write the blog post, so it obviously crossed your mind.
afandian, This app is just an MVP, the future hopefully is much bigger. On of the reasons is "because it's what startups do" and "everybody thinks that's the next step". I do have needs (development, content creation and in-house marketing team), but none of them are a must-have, I can do it a bit slower with whatever means I have at my disposal.
What does "the future hopefully is much bigger" mean for a calculator application? Competition with Wolfram Alpha? Unless you're doing something on that scale, I can't imagine what you mean.
Re: Why We're Not Raising Funds
#18It really resonated with me, at Coinkite.com we chose to bootstrap and have been turning away offers for 18 months now. I'm not fully opposed to taking money, It's just been great to focus 100% of our time on Product. We've managed to get 160,000 active wallets (funded), 1000+ devs using the API, 8000 debit cards and terminals in over 30 countries with very little money. it's amazing how far you can stretch your own…
Reading your comment is a huge inspiration to me. Do you plan to do any writeups/blog posts of your experience. I love to hear stories from successful bootstrapped companies.
I too would love to start something in the bitcoin space :)
Re: Why We're Not Raising Funds
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Re: Why We're Not Raising Funds
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