Bootstrapping. The Art of Using Your Own Resources to Get Things Done.
In2Korea does not offer money to its participants? What kind of startup program is this you might ask! Well friends, the kind of program who truly believes that money is not the most important aspect in the success of a startup. Don’t worry, we do offer awesome perks that will help you succeed but we strongly believe bootstrapping can be the key to success.
Don’t believe us? Take a minute to read this and let us know what you think!
In the startup world and in startup press, bootstrapping loses out to it’s far sexier cousin, fundraising. Every day, we hear the same stories about startups with great ideas who get investments to create successful companies. You’re probably thinking it’s not that important; after all, money is money and money now is better than no money at all. That might be true, but bootstrapping is not only about money, it also offers a lot of advantages:
First of all, starting from nothing will help you focus on the essentials.
You won’t waste your time deciding what espresso machine would look best in the new office you and your new team invested in. You know why? Because you won’t have money for it. Instead, you will spend time doing real work and transforming your idea into something concrete.
Bootstrapping forces you to be creative.
You will find creative ways to reach people: partners, employees, and customers. Instead of spending money for an expensive Facebook ad, engage people and tell them directly about your idea. You will exercise and grow your network, as you should! Before trying to convince strangers, you should know how to convince your friends.
More than creative, you will have to be convincing and aggressive.
People won’t just flock to you, you will need to approach them directly with your idea. Take it as a reality check; if you don’t receive any positive feedback, then it might be time to rethink your strategy. Confronting people with your idea is key to early traction. Remember: real traction + real customers = real revenues. Isn’t that what you want for your business?
Bootstrapping makes you hire the right people.
Bootstrapping will force you to be extra careful when hiring new staff because you simply won’t have the resources to make mistakes. Management mistakes are usually extremely costly as you will lose money and time replacing a bad hire.
On the bright side, the people joining you at an early stage will do because they believe in your project are willing to take risks with you — just make sure to hire the right kind of passionate person!
Bootstrapping allows you to make mistakes.
The lack of money will make you extra fearful of making mistakes, but it actually provides you freedom! There will be no investors to kill your idea because you picked the wrong logo or because you set a up the wrong kind of ads on Facebook. At an early stage, those mistakes are mostly risk-free (not cost-free!), and the ones that do carry consequences will serve as learning experiences.
So is bootstrapping the only way to make smart decisions and be successful? Of course not! But, it will make you realize that money is just a tool, not a necessity. One day, when you grow more, you might need fundraising and investors. However, by that time your idea will have a solid foundation.
There are many ways to succeed, but you should always keep in mind that an idea is worth nothing until it is transformed into a business. The best way to do so is getting traction from people, not investors.
