Bootstrapping means starting a company without raising venture capital, using personal funds or business revenue instead. This approach gives you complete control over your business.

Bootstrapping allows you to maintain ownership and equity, spend more efficiently, and avoid repaying loans or answering to investors, but it limits your growth potential and increases financial risk.

The decision to bootstrap or seek venture capital is crucial; most entrepreneurs do not rely on VC funding.

I had no choice but to bootstrap my company for the first year. I focused on optimizing for a fast and efficient fundraising process because I was warned that a long fundraising process could kill a company.

Building a successful small business can be just as valuable as a venture-backed startup, and it can generate millions of dollars without needing venture capital.

The first step in entrepreneurship is to work for an entrepreneur, ideally in a small team, to gain firsthand experience of how a business operates.

We bootstrapped for a year in San Francisco, which was tough, and when I raised our first round, it mainly went to cover expenses I was already paying personally.

The debate over bootstrapping versus raising venture capital often stirs engagement online, but it's important to recognize that this controversy can be exaggerated for promotional purposes.

When you're in control of your startup's direction, it alleviates the stress of relying on external funding, allowing for a more stable and confident approach to growth.