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How to bootstrap a Startup with less than $10k. Meet Tipsandtrip.

thestartup.eu

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Re: How to bootstrap a Startup with less than $10k. Meet Tipsandtrip.

#31

Post by ahoyhere »

daveungerer wrote: post #19

Wait a second... we'll have to find a new word for the concept currently known as bootstrapping, because articles like these make the word completely meaningless. Bootstrapping means creating a self-sustaining business. At a minimum, this means you have revenue to cover your running costs. You can only say "bootstrap with less than $10K" if that 10K gives your business enough revenue to cover its running costs. Yet t…

I think this is part of the misconception that many Europeans have about "the way startups work." Even if they read everything that's published, the "Hey, this new thing just launched!" and "This Social Network for Dogs is a STARTUP!" fluff outnumbers the "Yeah, we busted ass and charged real money" meat 10:1.

Naturally, what's more common is what sticks in their minds.

As an American in Vienna, I find this kind of cargo-culting everywhere.

Re: How to bootstrap a Startup with less than $10k. Meet Tipsandtrip.

#32

Post by ahoyhere »

jasonlotito wrote: post #29
ahoyhere wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

None of what I said conflicts with "focusing exclusively on products," but since you want more background information, here it is. How did we keep a roof over our heads? The old fashioned way: working our asses off, saving, and with the cultivation of multiple income streams, as I mentioned above. 1. We did some consulting projects that we wouldn't have otherwise taken on, and saved the money. We raised our rates for…

> None of what I said conflicts with "focusing exclusively on products," Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that. What I meant to say is that it seems to conflict, or wasn't clear. I wasn't questioning what you were saying, I was just curious and wanted you to expand. Sorry if it came off as confrontational. > Enough information for you? I assumed, correctly, that what you did was a bit more than just what your short post…

No need to backpedal quite so much. You didn't offend me.

I am angry, but not at you. I'm sure it's not The Done Thing to admit you're pissed at your audience on the internet, but here goes: I'm pissed at my audience!

I am so freakin tired of people who whine about how it's tiring to work after their work, or that it's rough to work on two or more things at once, or that all they really wanna do is just work on their little pet project and not have to worry about bills.

It just smacks of entitlement. And, worse, avoidable failure.

Look, here's the thing. My story? Not remarkable. Not special. Not new.

I'm happy if you read it and feel encouraged. That's why I keep writing about it. But the fact is, I'm just doing what successful people have done forever -- hustlin the shit out of everything I got, and then some. Not sitting on their butt, not complaining, not waiting for an invitation, not waiting for somebody to map out the territory before they start walking.

If you really want to be inspired, look to biographies. Try one about Ben Franklin to start with.

I guarantee you that if you* read about what he did and where he came from, you will be knocked on your ass with humility when you look at the amount of effort you are expending and what you expect to happen in return.

* you being anyone, not just jasonlotito

Re: How to bootstrap a Startup with less than $10k. Meet Tipsandtrip.

#33

Post by gametheory »

ahoyhere wrote: post #31
daveungerer wrote: post #19

Wait a second... we'll have to find a new word for the concept currently known as bootstrapping, because articles like these make the word completely meaningless. Bootstrapping means creating a self-sustaining business. At a minimum, this means you have revenue to cover your running costs. You can only say "bootstrap with less than $10K" if that 10K gives your business enough revenue to cover its running costs. Yet t…

I think this is part of the misconception that many Europeans have about "the way startups work." Even if they read everything that's published, the "Hey, this new thing just launched!" and "This Social Network for Dogs is a STARTUP!" fluff outnumbers the "Yeah, we busted ass and charged real money" meat 10:1. Naturally, what's more common is what sticks in their minds. As an American in Vienna, I find this kind of c…

sounds very much like the misconceptions of much of those in Silicon Valley

Re: How to bootstrap a Startup with less than $10k. Meet Tipsandtrip.

#34

Post by ahoyhere »

gametheory wrote: post #33
ahoyhere wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is part of the misconception that many Europeans have about "the way startups work." Even if they read everything that's published, the "Hey, this new thing just launched!" and "This Social Network for Dogs is a STARTUP!" fluff outnumbers the "Yeah, we busted ass and charged real money" meat 10:1. Naturally, what's more common is what sticks in their minds. As an American in Vienna, I find this kind of c…

sounds very much like the misconceptions of much of those in Silicon Valley

Having spent enough time in both places I can tell you that it's much, much, much worse here. In SV, you have actual businesses to counter-weight. Here, you don't.

Re: How to bootstrap a Startup with less than $10k. Meet Tipsandtrip.

#36

Post by jasonlotito »

ahoyhere wrote: post #32
jasonlotito wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> None of what I said conflicts with "focusing exclusively on products," Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that. What I meant to say is that it seems to conflict, or wasn't clear. I wasn't questioning what you were saying, I was just curious and wanted you to expand. Sorry if it came off as confrontational. > Enough information for you? I assumed, correctly, that what you did was a bit more than just what your short post…

No need to backpedal quite so much. You didn't offend me. I am angry, but not at you. I'm sure it's not The Done Thing to admit you're pissed at your audience on the internet, but here goes: I'm pissed at my audience! I am so freakin tired of people who whine about how it's tiring to work after their work, or that it's rough to work on two or more things at once, or that all they really wanna do is just work on their…

> I'm happy if you read it and feel encouraged. That's why I keep writing about it. But the fact is, I'm just doing what successful people have done forever -- hustlin the shit out of everything I got, and then some. Not sitting on their butt, not complaining, not waiting for an invitation, not waiting for somebody to map out the territory before they start walking.

While I agree with your sentiment, and understand what you mean from first hand experience, I think you might be confusing two type of people. There are people who will do nothing but complain, whine, and wait for that invitation.

But there are other people who are looking for more practical things. And here's the thing, saying you hustle the shit out of everything you got isn't exactly saying a whole lot.

Great. You hustle. But their is a big difference between hustling an ebook on javascript and hustling at an actual job. The ebook requires more time up front I imagine. The job requires constant time. I'm pretty sure finding a part time job instead of the ebook would have hurt in the long run.

It's practical stuff like that which helps some people. Knowing that you've sold 1400+ copies demonstrates that yes, their is a market for that sort of thing. I guess what I'm trying to say is that while you aren't doing anything new, their are specifics that allow you to succeed in what you do. Those specifics go a lot farther.

I could say my startup succeeded because I worked hard. That's true enough, but their are a lot of things I did to make it work, and that's the reality. That's the meat of it.

> No need to backpedal quite so much. You didn't offend me.

I tend to be an opinionated ass. I'm trying hard to change; I'm rather paranoid I still come off that way.

Re: How to bootstrap a Startup with less than $10k. Meet Tipsandtrip.

#37

Post by ahoyhere »

jasonlotito wrote: post #36
ahoyhere wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No need to backpedal quite so much. You didn't offend me. I am angry, but not at you. I'm sure it's not The Done Thing to admit you're pissed at your audience on the internet, but here goes: I'm pissed at my audience! I am so freakin tired of people who whine about how it's tiring to work after their work, or that it's rough to work on two or more things at once, or that all they really wanna do is just work on their…

> I'm happy if you read it and feel encouraged. That's why I keep writing about it. But the fact is, I'm just doing what successful people have done forever -- hustlin the shit out of everything I got, and then some. Not sitting on their butt, not complaining, not waiting for an invitation, not waiting for somebody to map out the territory before they start walking. While I agree with your sentiment, and understand w…

There are lots of people who "are looking for more practical things" to come to them, rather than seeking them out. Why, for example, does everyone have this bias for new stories about how people made the odds work in their favor? There are so many old ones. Why wait for new stories to appear on HN? Why not spend that time in the library instead?

Why trust my story more than Ben Franklin's? Or Richard Branson's? Or 37Signals'?

Their stories are out there for the taking.

To you, I'm just some random voice on the internet.

Sure, you're right, there are people who will whine and never do a thing, and people who have better potential (judging from this current moment in time, anyway). But a lot of those people with potential are waiting for the stories to come to them. Like they're saying, _You old world, you bastard, I'm going to sit here until you prove I can do it. I refuse._

The exact recipes for success are available everywhere. You don't need to wait for some random chick on HN who gets her jollies yelling at people to get off their asses. Waiting gets you nowhere.

As for the ebook -- the earnings divided by the time it took was less than what I could have made consulting, but the reward is more than just the money it made directly - although that's an appreciable amount.

You didn't need me to prove there was a market for "that kind of thing," either. People have been proving that for decades. Just look at all the people who make a great living selling information products alone.

FTR: I never said that the reason for my success was "hard work" or "hustle." That's part of it, yes, but I never just say that.

Re: How to bootstrap a Startup with less than $10k. Meet Tipsandtrip.

#38

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