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Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?

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Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?

#71

Post by applecore »

therealarmen wrote: post #9

Lots 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 $8M from Sequoia but apparently didn't spend any of it [2]. [1] http://avc.com/2012/09/indeed/ [2] http://forbesindia.com/article/the-worlds-billionaires/the-$...

That story probably isn't true. Why would WhatsApp raise money if they weren't planning to spend any of it?

Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?

#72

Post by sayemm »

hollerith wrote: post #68
sayemm wrote: post #64

Earlier 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?

That was his first success as an entrpreneur, selling a Ben Franklin franchise store - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Walton#The_first_stores

Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?

#73

Post by jonnathanson »

johndavidback wrote: post #70
hollerith wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Incidentally, he did serve in the military. :)

Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?

#74

Post by danielharan »

applecore wrote: post #71
therealarmen wrote: post #9

Lots 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 $8M from Sequoia but apparently didn't spend any of it [2]. [1] http://avc.com/2012/09/indeed/ [2] http://forbesindia.com/article/the-worlds-billionaires/the-$...

That story probably isn't true. Why would WhatsApp raise money if they weren't planning to spend any of it?

For help selling the company? I'm sure there are a few VCs that know all the corp dev people and could more than double the final price.

Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?

#77

Post by freejack »

spaldingwell wrote: post #41
dabent wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

GoDaddy is actually not profitable. In 2013 the company lost $199.88 million and in 2012 they lost $279 million . http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/09/godaddy-files-for-100m-ipo/ (just a minor correction as I am not the biggest fan of GoDaddy)

If I understand and remember the finances correctly, debt takes them to about $3b in the hole. Not much of a success story there...

Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?

#78

Post by chadkruse »

markolschesky wrote: post #53

Epic, which delivers most of the Electronic Medical Records software for large healthcare organizations in the United States, has never raised any funding. With revenues over $1.7 billion a year, their valuation is certainly greater than $1b.

Raised $70k: http://www.forbes.com/sites/zinamoukheiber/2012/04/18/epic-s...

Regardless, still a great story.

Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?

#79

Post by catshirt »

danielharan wrote: post #74
applecore wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That story probably isn't true. Why would WhatsApp raise money if they weren't planning to spend any of it?

For help selling the company? I'm sure there are a few VCs that know all the corp dev people and could more than double the final price.

this is definitely not my forte but if VC thinks they could flip the company isn't there a more direct route than buying into a round for the sake of press?

Re: Ask HN: Do bootstrapped billion-dollar companies exist?

#80

Post by catshirt »

shreve wrote: post #65
vecter wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is 37Signals worth $1B?

Actually, they're valued at $100B. http://signalvnoise.com/posts/1941-press-release-37signals-v...

i'm not typically a fan of the 37signals blog posts which come off to me as arrogant. this one makes me laugh though; it does a really effective job of poking fun at the broken parts of the VC model.
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