Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped Using Services to a VC-funded SaaS Marketplace

If you haven’t already, please study our free Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. 

Booksy Co-founder and CEO Stefan Batory started a software development company in Poland with a few other partners. Today, he’s running a high-growth, VC-funded SaaS and marketplace business in the US. Awesome journey! Here is our conversation from early 2020, plus you can listen to our podcast interview from 2021 here.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s go back to the very beginning of your journey. Tell us where you’re from, where you were born, raised, and in what kind of background.

Stefan Batory: I’m from Warsaw, Poland. I was born and raised in one of the poorest parts of the country. I got a scholarship and went to a high school here in the US back in 1994.

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Thursday, February 1 – 632nd 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 632nd FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, February 1, 2024, at 8 a.m. PST/11 a.m. EST/5 p.m. CET/9:30 p.m. India IST.

If you are a serious entrepreneur, register to “pitch” and sell your business idea. You’ll receive straightforward feedback, advice on next steps, and answers to any of your questions. Others can register to “attend” to watch, learn, and interact through the online chat.

You can learn more here and REGISTER TO PITCH OR ATTEND HERE. Register and you will receive the recording by email, even if you are unable to attend. Please share with any entrepreneurs in your circle who may be interested. All are welcome!

Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped to a Public Unicorn using Services

If you haven’t already, please study our free Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. 

Bootstrapping with Services is a tried and true strategy, including for building Unicorns. In our 2012 story, Alteryx Executive Chairman Dean Stoecker talks about raising a Series A with $10 million in the bank. Today, Alteryx is a $3+ billion market cap public company. Dean bootstrapped with services early on, and then raised VC money.

Sramana Mitra: Dean, let’s start at the beginning of your personal story. What is the context for your entrepreneurial journey? Where are you from?

Dean Stoecker: I grew up in a family business in Colorado. I would sit around the table every day and hear about the trials and excitements of owning a business. I went to school at the University of Colorado. I had the opportunity to travel the world through a program called Semester at Sea. That was where I got the idea that I wanted to have my own business. After I graduated, I moved to California and got involved in the information business.

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Video FAQs

Catching Up On Readings: WEF 2024

This feature from Forbes by Bernard Marr looks at how the discussions at WEF Davos highlighted the significance of AI for economic, political, and social challenges. For this fortnight’s posts, click on the paragraph links.

February 1 – 632nd 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 632nd FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, February 1, 2024, at 8 a.m. PST/11 a.m. EST/5 p.m. CET/9:30 p.m. India IST.

If you are a serious entrepreneur, register to “pitch” and sell your business idea. You’ll receive straightforward feedback, advice on next steps, and answers to any of your questions. Others can register to “attend” to watch, learn, and interact through the online chat.

You can learn more here and REGISTER TO PITCH OR ATTEND HERE. Register and you will receive the recording by email, even if you are unable to attend. Please share with any entrepreneurs in your circle who may be interested. All are welcome!

Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped Using Services to $40 Million First

If you haven’t already, please study our free Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. 

ActiveCampaign Founder CEO Jason VandeBoom had built a disciplined, profitable business when we spoke in 2019 and had scaled it to $40 million in 2017 revenue. The company was first bootstrapped using services, and later raised ~$20 million in funding.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of background?

Jason VandeBoom: I was born and raised in a small town in Wisconsin about an hour out of Milwaukee, and started in technology from a consulting side of things at a very early age. Around 13 or so, I started taking on small projects. I was always interested in engineering and design. That ultimately led me to go to art school. I chose a school in Chicago for art school. That’s what brought me to Chicago.

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631st 1Mby1M Roundtable for Entrepreneurs Starting NOW: Live Tweeting by @1Mby1M

Today’s 631st FREE online 1Mby1M Roundtable for Entrepreneurs is starting NOW, on Thursday, January 25, at 8 a.m. PST/11 a.m. EST/5 p.m. CET/9: 30 p.m. India IST. CLICK HERE to join. PASSWORD: startup  All are welcome!      

Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped a Virtual Startup to $25M

If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. 

I am a huge fan of virtual companies. Here is a conversation from 2019 about a virtual company built with excellent execution by a Russian entrepreneur, Percona Founder CEO Peter Zaitsev.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of background?

Peter Zaitsev: I was born in what was the Soviet Union. I studied Math and Computer Science in Moscow State University. I started my first startup company while studying.

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