In today's Startup Therapy Podcast, Wil and Ryan discuss whether bootstrapped startups are less valuable than venture-funded startups. The value of a startup isn't only determined by its funding source. While venture-funded startups may have more money and support initially, bootstrapped startups can still be valuable and successful. Bootstrapping often leads to efficient operations, as founders have to focus on making money and becoming profitable without relying on outside investments. In the end, the value of a startup depends on things like its potential in the market, how much it's growing, how well its product fits the market, and the skills of its team, regardless of how it's funded.
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Resources:
What to Listen For
- 00:00 Intro
- 02:44 What do founders feel when they are not funded?
- 03:47 There are only a few companies that get venture funded
- 06:44 If you don’t raise VC, who cares?
- 08:52 What happens after you get the funding?
- 13:32 Getting funded = smaller options
- 17:39 Who are you creating value for?
- 22:32 Bootstrapping is okay
- 25:53 The optionality of bootstrapping
- 27:34 Creativity and resourcefulness from bootstrapping
- 28:49 Don’t let your startup be valuable to someone other than you
- 29:54 Bootstrapping a business that won’t generate profit right away
- 35:08 Patience is an incredible asset
What is Startup Therapy?
The "No BS" version of how startups are really built, taught by actual startup Founders who have lived through all of it. Hosts Wil Schroter and Ryan Rutan talk candidly about the intense struggles Founders face both personally and professionally as they try to turn their idea into something that will change the world.