Bootstrapping
What is bootstrapping?
Bootstrapping is starting and growing a business with the founders’ own money and the business’s revenue, rather than venture capital or other outside investment. Bootstrapped founders keep control and ownership, and must reach revenue early.
It is common among indie hackers and small software businesses.
Why bootstrapping matters
Without funding, every marketing dollar counts, which favours low-cost channels: communities, content, direct outreach and word of mouth.
Related marketing terms
Indie Hackers is an online community of founders building profitable, often self-funded internet businesses, sharing numbers and lessons openly.
Building in public means sharing your product’s progress, numbers, decisions and mistakes openly as you build, to grow an audience along the way.
Founder-led sales is when a startup’s founders sell the product themselves in the early days, before hiring a sales team.
Customer acquisition cost (CAC)
Customer acquisition cost, CAC, is the average amount spent on sales and marketing to win one new customer in a given period.