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Spoken like a marketer / salesperson. I am indeed a developer and run a successful, bootstrapped software business. I agree that you need to initially get the
by piotrkaminski 4y ago
Spoken like a marketer / salesperson. I am indeed a developer and run a successful, bootstrapped software business. I agree that you need to initially get the word out that your product exists at all. However, this can be so targeted and the scope so small that I doubt most people would put it in the same category as the advertising practices that many find objectionable.
Once you've got some interest bootstrapped, you CAN in fact rely on unprompted word of mouth for growth. My users and buyers spread the word about my product simply because they find it useful. Many bring it to their new employer when they switch jobs.
So no, I disagree with the blanket position that you have to advertise -- especially in the intrusive fashion that's the subject of the article -- to get people to use your product. (Though I don't dispute that doing so can be a good shortcut.)
But all that is irrelevant to my claim above: my position is simply that a dearth of advertising options is what drives product innovation, by necessity. And hence, limiting advertising is likely to actually be good for consumers.
- WalterBright 4y agoMany products require massive investment to get to the point of being able to sell a product. Waiting around for word of mouth means your debt will overwhelm the business. Bootstrapping only works if you haven't taken on much debt to finance the development and manufacturing of the product. Software can be developed with very little debt (which is what I did).
- derefr 4y agoSo, then... why not leave those product categories to bigcorps who can reinvest their existing treasury by chasing such risks? We don't expect a small company to be able to make a Hollywood movie, or a new medicine... and that's just fine, isn't it?
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- joe-collins 4y agoI wonder if there are generalities about the products that "require" advertising and those that don't. Perhaps we would find that, on the balance, those products are not worth their externalized costs.
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- didgetmaster 4y agoMy project (a new kind of data management system designed to replace file systems and relational databases) is a bootstrapped project. I self funded it, but that means it has taken several years to get it to its current state. There are many features still on the TODO list, but it can do some amazing things so far. The 'if you build it, they will come' is a great movie line, but rarely works in business. It is difficult to raise awareness for it. Newsletters, blogs, demo videos, presenting at conferences, etc. are all means for trying to spread the word. I have considered taking out some paid advertisements, but you wonder if anyone but bots will actually see them.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]