first off - this is one of the best threads i've seen here in a long time and I'm deeply inspired to hear others stories of bootstrapping success and failures.

first off - this is one of the best threads i've seen here in a long time and I'm deeply inspired to hear others stories of bootstrapping success and failures. We have bootstrapped rephoria from day one and are now nearing the one year mark but alas have yet to ship our product. I lost my day job mid last last year and thought it was going to be a massive blessing as i had been working nights for two months proir and was feeling the constant strain...wrong. We were not ready from a team capability standpoint and with no funding was constantly stressed by money issues. During that time we experienced so many setbacks and disappointments but have kept pushing as we are continually inspired by the potential of the vision. Basically it was not until I took a day job some 4 months later that things got rolling again. As of today we are closer than ever to launching and what we are launching is far better than what I would have launched last year, so in reality (hindsight) at that point we were not ready for investment. As first time entrepreneurs I believe that we will need to get past launch - get real users - and validation of the model - at which point I will make a strong push to secure an angel round. Bootstrapping is a fundamental entrepreneurial quality - it forces you to believe in yourself, your team, and your idea in the face of all odds. If you can make it through you will be a superior entrepreneur. Bootstrapping is part of the true Hacker spirit. That said the ability to achieve scale and growth is greatly enhanced by having the funds in place to focus and execute on the plan in a timely fashion. My twitter a few hours earlier read: Wishing i could hit the biz refresh button and have the time i had 3 months ago with the team i have now.