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It took almost one year into building my business to realize that I actually had the option to not take on venture capital. That is how ingrained the idea of ta
by dyarosla 11y ago
It took almost one year into building my business to realize that I actually had the option to not take on venture capital. That is how ingrained the idea of taking on capital and later either going public or getting acquired is in most startup circles. Bootstrapping almost felt like a non-option until I later heard about the prospect from several other (less-vocal) sources.
I think it's great that Kickstarter, a fairly young business with a prominent presence in the press, is showing yet another option that companies have outside of the common IPO/acquisition routes.
- VelNZ 11y agoI am endlessly surprised at how ingrained this idea is too. Hanging out in places like HN, it feels like that's the only way one can build a business when it really isn't. There's nothing wrong with starting slow and gradually transitioning to working on it full time as/if demand grows.
- vacri 11y agoThis is basically the difference between 'small business' and 'startup'. Startups are a subset of small businesses that take on external capital to grow quickly. HN feels like startups are the only thing around because... well... it is (or was) the marketing forum for a startup accelerator, and hence not really focused for the slow, measured small business ramp-up.
- LoSboccacc 11y agowell, look at the HN sponsor and the advertisement for companies around here....
- zem 11y agoi may not always agree with spolsky, but there are a few pieces of his that i found very thought-provoking, and which have stuck in my mind. one of them is the "ben and jerry's versus amazon" post: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000056.html http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000056.html it may seem like it doesn't really say anything new or insightful, but i have found it very helpful to have the distinction made so clearly, and to have a concrete epitome of each type.
- eatonphil 11y agoOT, I am too young to remember a time when switching ISPs meant switching email addresses. That is nuts!