Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped Using Services First, Raised Money Later

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

Rich Waldron, Co-founder and CEO of Tray.io, was building an authentic tech company from London when we spoke in 2020. While the company could have become a so-called Unicorn by loading up on liquidation preferences, they chose not to do so. Excellent story.

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?

Rich Waldron: I was born in the UK in a place called Southampton, which is right down on the South Coast. Its most famous claim to fame is where the Titanic set off from. I was born there 35 years ago.

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Featured Videos

592nd Roundtable for Entrepreneurs Starting NOW: Live Tweeting by @1Mby1M

Today’s 592nd FREE online 1Mby1M Roundtable For Entrepreneurs is starting NOW, on Thursday, October 6, at 8 a.m. PDT/11 a.m. EDT/5 p.m. CEST/8:30 p.m. India IST. CLICK HERE to join. PASSWORD: startup  All are welcome!

592nd Roundtable for Entrepreneurs Starting in 30 Minutes: Live Tweeting by @1Mby1M

Today’s 592nd FREE online 1Mby1M Roundtable for Entrepreneurs is starting in 30 minutes, on Thursday, October 6, at 8 a.m. PDT/11 a.m. EDT/5 p.m. CEST/8:30 p.m. India IST. CLICK HERE to join. PASSWORD: startup  All are welcome!

Video FAQs

Thought Leaders in Cyber Security: Stellar Cyber CoFounder and CTO Aimei Wei (Part 4)

Aimei Wei: We already know what we need to build. Whoever can execute and provide the value to protect the customer effectively still needs to execute. There are three ways. First is detection. Detect at the earliest stage of an attack. The next stage is how to automatically respond, disrupt, and stop the attack before it causes more damage.

Then the third way is to proactively build your security assessment exposure and continuously close the doors and open windows to make sure your environment is as safe as possible and leave a very small chance for the hacker to come in. To do this effectively across the continuously growing attack surface is a challenge.

Building a High-Growth Startup From Brazil: Revelo CEO Lachlan de Crespigny (Part 4)

Sramana Mitra: Did you raise Series A?

Lachlan de Crespigny: We did. We raised Series A in late 2017 and Series B in 2019.

Sramana Mitra: When you went to raise Series A, what were your metrics vis-a-vis revenues, customers, and growth rate? Was the business model still the same?

Lachlan de Crespigny: The business model was still the same. I think we were making about $20,000 to $30,000 a month when we were raising Series A. We felt that Series A would be all about the metrics. It’s not. It’s about determining if we have a plan to be a very big company in the future. I remember we focused so much on our metrics that we were unconvincing to a lot of investors.

Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped First, Raised $120M Later

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

This discussion from 2020 with Madwire Co-CEO JB Kellogg includes all sorts of interesting nuances, including DIFM vs. DIY. Read on.

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?

JB Kellogg: I’m from Colorado. I was born and raised there. We moved around, but most of my childhood was in Colorado. I was very into sports as a kid. I grew up with that as my primary focus, which catapulted me into college on scholarship for football.

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Thursday, October 6 – 592nd 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 592nd FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, October 6, 2022, at 8 a.m. PDT/11 a.m. EDT/5 p.m. CEST/8:30 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!

Thought Leaders in Cyber Security: Stellar Cyber CoFounder and CTO Aimei Wei (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: What is your strategy vis-a-vis the players like Qualys and Palo Alto Networks? Are there opportunities for partnerships? If they’re not your direct competitors, do they have anything in their portfolio that you compete with? That would then open you up to large enterprises.

Aimei Wei: We have integrations with Palo Alto’s firewall. We also have integrations with other Palo Alto products. When customers have those products, we are able to support them. We do have the integration. We do have integration with Qualys.