You have an idea and you want to take the next step – have it developed, take it to market, formalize the company (i.e. LLC, C-Corp, etc), etc etc. But what about funding? You could try and raise funds thru Angel Investors or Venture Capital. There are different crowdfunding options too (donation-based vs equity).
While you need to do due-diligence on what type of fundraising you want to do (including giving away equity in your company), Bootstrapping might be a viable option. With Bootstrapping, you’ll be funding the business yourself (or jointly if you have a co-founder who’s pitching in). Probably the biggest advantage of Bootstrapping is you control your destiny (well, the Market/Customers will strongly influence you). But you won’t be bogged down with reporting financial and/or product status to others; people who may decide one day that you’re the wrong person for the job and have enough ownership to oust you.
If you’re currently working a job and you want to bring your new idea to market, instead of putting all your eggs in one basket, you can crawl-walk-run with your idea. Use part of your salary or savings to invest in your idea. Work the classic “nights and weekends” (early mornings too) to get your idea off the ground. It’ll take longer than if you have outside investments. But you call the shots. And it’ll be more rewarding.
When you’re Bootstrapping, validating your idea and getting cash from customer is of utmost importance to sustain and then grow your venture. Echo Lake Technologies can help you create a Minimal Viable Product (MVP) so you can get your idea validated from those you care about – your Customers. Don’t spend months building something the market doesn’t want. Do the wireframe/mockup, do the MVP and hustle. Contact me for help getting your idea out into the market.
