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As a single founder you can write off funding until you're actually making money, at which point you'll start getting unsolicited offers you'll reject because y
by trevelyan 15y ago
As a single founder you can write off funding until you're actually making money, at which point you'll start getting unsolicited offers you'll reject because you no longer need the money. The downside is poverty while you're bootstrapping and emotional issues like depression and isolation.
Regardless, if you think you can get revenue without funding I'd say go it alone because you don't NEED anyone else and you can always bring people on board (even as employees) later. A business that can get a few thousand a month within a year should be able to scale up into hundreds of thousands in annual revenue through word-of-mouth alone. At that point you can live without answering to anyone else. The other route of taking investment and cofounders means you get locked down and need a much larger exit to have the same level of freedom.
If you can afford to spend $5 to $10k over the next six to ten months, you might want to look at something like Start-Up Chile. They don't take equity so don't have the anti-single-founder bias that seems prevalent elsewhere, but the social nature of the program makes the startup experience less alienating because it makes you part of a cohort, and the funding can be useful for experimenting with different approaches to distribution and marketing you wouldn't be able to afford as a bootstrapper otherwise.
- jturly 15y agoI would definitely recommend Startup Chile. There is a 'sole founders' group within Startup Chile that meets weekly. I got into Startup Chile as a solo founder. Since then I have brought on two partners. I am having a great experience in the program.
- pwhelan 15y agoCould you please elaborate on your experience with them as a solo founder? Also, how would the US market being the almost sole target impact things?
- jturly 15y agoSure! I can say that my acceptance into the program allowed me to attract significantly better cofounder candidates than I was able to before. I know that they do not discriminate against solo founders in the application process. What else would you like to know? Happy to answer your questions :).
- pwhelan 15y agoSorry for the delay, things got away from me for a while. How little Spanish could one speak and realistically get by? Yo sé un poquito, solamente un poquito. The website says they work in English but the general Chileans? If the idea is a web & mobile service that focuses (almost) exclusively on the US & UK, would that be feasible? Can you talk about what type of talks and events are required for founders to give / attend and how demanding on your time this is? At the end of that time period, what happens to your work visa and whatnot? Can you stay to work there, are you expected to work there, etc... Sorry for the delay again & thanks.
- jturly 15y agoI spoke no Spanish when I got here and have survived so far. Seems you know more than me! Chileans don't speak much English - maybe 5% of them are bilingual? They want to see startups that will target the world eventually...could say US/UK are starting points. No talks are mandatory to attend, but you need to give or organize a bunch. Maybe 5-10% of my time. You get a work visa for 1 year. Expected to stay for 7 months. You can try to get a permanent residency after 1 year
- jturly 15y agoHi! Wanted to let you know that I wrote an article about how to get into Startup Chile: http://www.techvibes.com/blog/how-to-get-into-startup-chile-2012-03-26 http://www.techvibes.com/blog/how-to-get-into-startup-chile-...