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Joel, I dug this write up, the points resonated. I feel like I've read similar articles, though I can't seem to find any at the moment. Either way, I'll read t

Joel, I dug this write up, the points resonated. I feel like I've read similar articles, though I can't seem to find any at the moment. Either way, I'll read the article, and then I'll check out what the person is working on. Frequently, I'll land on their product and it's pretty unimpressive. In the end it's good that they've learned to build something in their spare time, but also a little unnerving - could they have built something substantially better if they'd had a little more resource. In your case it's exactly the opposite. I signed up for bufferapp and am amazed at how much you've been able to do "in your spare time." It's a great example of how efficient, motivated people can take it to the next level. Cheers to your hard work and continued success!

joelg87 15y ago
Thanks Porter, that really means a lot! I had a previous startup I worked on for 1.5 years on the side, and I think I would have met the expectations you mentioned with that. I've had more luck with Buffer, and I'm delighted to be working on it full-time with a great (still small) team around me. If it helps, here's a little more details on the transition from "on the side" bootstrapped to full-time (and funded). I worked "on the side" for about 5 months before going full-time. In that time I took it to ramen profitability and brought on board my co-founder Leo. We spent a further 5 months working full-time and bootstrapping it. In that time we jumped on a plane to San Francisco, and after 10 months total time we got into AngelPad incubator and got a little funding. Shortly after, we hired a good friend of mine as our first employee. So, 5 months "on the side", 5 months "full-time" (10 months bootstrapped), and then funded after that (but with good traction & revenue, we have found our scalable business model). I think this may be a good path for other first time founders to take, since it's hard to raise funding without a previous track record, but once you have traction it is much easier. Let me know if I can ever help with anything, I've followed you on Twitter :)

joelg87 15y ago

Thanks Porter, that really means a lot! I had a previous startup I worked on for 1.5 years on the side, and I think I would have met the expectations you mentioned with that. I've had more luck with Buffer, and I'm delighted to be working on it full-time with a great (still small) team around me. If it helps, here's a little more details on the transition from "on the side" bootstrapped to full-time (and funded). I worked "on the side" for about 5 months before going full-time. In that time I took it to ramen profitability and brought on board my co-founder Leo. We spent a further 5 months working full-time and bootstrapping it. In that time we jumped on a plane to San Francisco, and after 10 months total time we got into AngelPad incubator and got a little funding. Shortly after, we hired a good friend of mine as our first employee. So, 5 months "on the side", 5 months "full-time" (10 months bootstrapped), and then funded after that (but with good traction & revenue, we have found our scalable business model). I think this may be a good path for other first time founders to take, since it's hard to raise funding without a previous track record, but once you have traction it is much easier. Let me know if I can ever help with anything, I've followed you on Twitter :)