The SaaS Bootstrapping Roundup

Originally stemming from the concept of “pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps”, the term “bootstrapping” describes a self-funded approach to starting a company. Bootstrapped companies are companies which are financed and grown internally, without the need for capital investment or other external assistance.

If you’re interested in learning more about SaaS Bootstrapping, these 5 articles will get you started!

How to Bootstrap a SaaS Startup (Guide)

Founder, entrepreneur and acclaimed SaaS-coach Abdo Riani penned one of the most brilliant introductions to SaaS bootstrapping in late 2018. Divided into 3 sections (with 12 sub-sections), this astoundingly thorough guide provides as much value to readers looking to plunge into the deep end as it does readers looking to dip in a toe. If you read just one bootstrapping article, this should be the one.

The real and best problems are often deeper than the obvious surface. It’s about what the customer is really trying to accomplish. And that problem is not letting them do it.

– Abdo Riani

Hard Lessons from our First 6 Months Bootstrapping in SaaS

Taking a more specialized approach to the larger picture of SaaS bootstrapping, ProfitWell‘s Patrick Campbell shares learnings from their first three years as a SaaS company. Opening the book on ProfitWell’s journey to success, Campbell shares the good, the bad and the ugly parts of bootstrapping a SaaS company. As he explains, it’s not for the faint of heart. But is it worth it? Campbell thinks so, and we agree!

Venture backed peers and VCs won’t believe you’re doing well (or that you just can’t raise money)

– Patrick Campbell

Bootstrapping + Lean Startup = Low-burn Startup

Diving one layer deeper into SaaS bootstrapping, Lean Canvas creator Ash Maurya introduces the concept of Lean Startups. Though not exactly the same thing, Bootstrapping and Lean Startups are quite complementary. Maurya explains that while bootstrapping provides a strategic roadmap for achieving sustainability through customer funding, lean startups provide a more tactical approach to achieving those goals through validated learning from customers. Though largely considered an either/or proposition, Maurya’s piece discusses the benefits of combining these approaches, and teaches you how to do it right!

Learning how to make money is a basic entrepreneurial survival skill that they unfortunately still don’t teach at school.

– Ash Maurya

Bootstrapping a Startup in Pursuit of Freedom

Collect.chat founder Shyjal Raazi took to the Hackernoon blog to talk about entrepreneurial freedom, and how bootstrapping can give founders the freedom they deserve. Sharing the best and worst parts of his bootstrapping journey and the lessons learned along the way, Raazi sums his experiences up with a series of actionable advice and brilliant takeaways sure to benefit any bootstrapped founder.

Starting up is is extremely hard, especially when you don’t have investor’s money to run. But for the freedom and excitement that kicks into life, it is definitely worth doing

– Shyjal Raazi

Bootstrappers: SaaS Startups Finding Their Own Route to $1M+ ARR

For those looking for more of an overview, ChartMogul‘s Ed Shelley compiled a fantastic list of quick bootstrapping examples, facts and takeaways. Complete with quotes from some of the leading names in SaaS, Shelley’s article is a fantastic resource for those looking to learn more about SaaS bootstrapping.

I believe raising VC is more compatible with going big, and bootstrapping with lifestyle.

– Andrew Rasmussen

Bootstrapping Marketing

Our own Justin Talerico dials into one of the finer aspects of bootstrapping, zooming in on the marketing side of a bootstrapped SaaS company. Sharing the story of how he bootstrapped marketing at ion interactive, Justin explains the importance of looking and sounding like a much bigger organization even when you lack the funding to do so, and how to accomplish this without jeopardizing your company’s success.

If something or someone doesn’t perform, I want to KNOW it, not guess or THINK it.

– Justin Talerico

Happy reading!

Thanks so much for joining us for another SaaS roundup. We hope to see you here again next Monday!