Not raising funds to stay small and happy
antoine.finkelstein.fr
Not raising funds to stay small and happy
1–10 of 62 posts
Re: Not raising funds to stay small and happy
#2Totally agree with this. Been bootstrapping my own thing for a while. If it hits $5k MRR I'll be more than satisfied and probably never raise money.
Re: Not raising funds to stay small and happy
#3I also had these thoughts when I bootstrapped but the problem is not being able to hire a great team that can build something you would not be able to. If you’re all 3 single guys in 20s, enjoy 20s. When you’re married and have kids, then you’ll care about bills rather than lifestyle and retreats.
Re: Not raising funds to stay small and happy
#4Rarely comment, but definitely identify with this. Given HN's general focus on growth and funding, I think it's great/important for an article/concept like this to be given some reach.
I find that there isn't enough critical thought given to why one ought to pursue an aggressive growth strategy. And that generally, staying small is seen as a failure to grow, rather than a conscious effort to grow in line with ones own life. Going from 3 to 100 employees in a (relatively) short period will naturally have a large impact on one's personal life and mental/emotional state. I think it's important to ask, before one ventures into that kind of adventure, whether or not you're okay risking mental/emotional (and arguably physical) stability in place of the adventure, and the potential financial windfall.
There's nothing wrong with saying no to that risk. This is a short life we have, and spending it chasing growth to keep up w/ the momentum of the extremes of capitalism doesn't need to be your game ;)
[edit] Prefer my last paragraph be written as: There's nothing wrong with saying no to that risk. This is a short life we have, and if you're spending it chasing growth to keep up w/ the momentum of the extremes of capitalism, it doesn't need to be your game ;)
Re: Not raising funds to stay small and happy
#5I also had these thoughts when I bootstrapped but the problem is not being able to hire a great team that can build something you would not be able to. If you’re all 3 single guys in 20s, enjoy 20s. When you’re married and have kids, then you’ll care about bills rather than lifestyle and retreats.
Depends how much you're making as a bootstrapper? If $10 or 15k a month isn't able to fund your lifestyle then you'll probably have problems later in life. Also, unless you're based in the Bay area / NYC / London, hiring people generally won't cost you $10k/mo per employee.
Also, no one says you can't sell your bootstrapped business. A project generating $30k in profit can generally be sold for $1-1.3m. Reinvest that, and you suddenly have great cash flow from investments in addition to any other income you manage to make from your next project.
All in all, a path worth taking in life if you want flexibility and freedom.
Re: Not raising funds to stay small and happy
#6Je gagne plus de 7k $ par mois à temps partiel. Je n'arrêtais pas d'entendre les autres me dire combien d'argent ils pouvaient gagner en ligne, alors j'ai décidé d'y jeter un coup d'œil. Eh bien, tout était vrai et a complètement changé ma vie. C'est ce que je fais,
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Re: Not raising funds to stay small and happy
#7I was expecting more than a few paragraphs claiming that a small company is a good thing in regards to happiness and flexibility at work... oh well.
Re: Not raising funds to stay small and happy
#8I also identify with the author. Tried the startup game on two occasions and got burned 2 times (one as senior engineer the other as CTO) - somehow both companies managed to sell but not at a price that made my shares worth it.
I then swore I would never be an employee again and decided to join an accelerator but crashed out. Now I am freelancing and building a bootstrapped business on the side: much less headaches, I earn a good living, and get to build something I am passionate about while remaining master of my destiny. Not seeking VC money nor VC-esque returns, just a meaningful life where my work is valued and provides enough to live comfortably.
Re: Not raising funds to stay small and happy
#9I believe it is Bhutan that measures gross national happiness in addition to GDP, realizing growth just for growth's sake doesn't necessarily increase overall happiness. Don't know how well that works for them but good for both the nation and this startup to have it as a goal. My concern in the context of the startup would be that another player would enter the same market segment and use funding to expand aggressively, eating all of my market share in the process. Even if there is plenty of space in the market for both the slow growth and quick growth startups, there is going to be a danger of getting steamrolled by the quick growth company.
Re: Not raising funds to stay small and happy
#10I also identify with the author. Tried the startup game on two occasions and got burned 2 times (one as senior engineer the other as CTO) - somehow both companies managed to sell but not at a price that made my shares worth it. I then swore I would never be an employee again and decided to join an accelerator but crashed out. Now I am freelancing and building a bootstrapped business on the side: much less headaches,…
May I ask what is your bootstrapped business?
I am about to start one myself and I am curious about how and why experienced devs choose their ambitious side projects