Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapping a Virtual Company to Over $5M

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

Can you bootstrap a virtual company to over $5 million? Renaissance Periodization CEO Nick Shaw has done just that. He has built a very interesting e-learning company and addressed scalability with nifty strategic choices. You’ll learn a lot from our conversation from 2018.

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?

Nick Shaw: I was born and raised in the state of Michigan. I grew up with the goal of wanting to go to the University of Michigan. It’s a top-level school. I was lucky enough to be accepted there. I started in the Sports Management program. I originally wanted to be an athletic director.

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Cloud Stocks: Toast Addresses Changing Restaurant Industry Dynamics

The US restaurant POS market was valued at $4.56 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at 6.4% CAGR from 2021 through 2028. Analysts believe that the industry will see growth of mobile and self-service kiosk segments as companies shift to more affordable options. Boston-based Toast (NYSE: TOST) is hoping to address this demand through product enhancements and partnerships.

From Solo Developer to Venture Scale Entrepreneur: Jordan Boesch, CEO of 7Shifts (Part 1)

Jordan started as a solo entrepreneur in a small province of Canada, Saskatchewan, and has built a heavily funded, high-growth SaaS business. Fascinating journey!

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

Jordan Boesch: I’m from Saskatchewan, a province in Canada. I’m the CEO at 7Shifts which is a team management platform. Before 7Shifts, I was a software developer for many years. I ended up working for my dad who ran some Quiznos locations.

Video FAQs

Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later and Build a World-Class AI Startup from India: Raghu Ravinutala, CEO of Yellow.ai (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: You got to a million ARR on the strength of those first 10 customers?

Raghu Ravinutala: No, once we got the 10, we got more. When we were at $1 million, we had 35 to 40 customers.

Sramana Mitra: You didn’t have to raise money until that point?

Raghu Ravinutala: Correct.

Sramana Mitra: How many people were you then?

Cloud Stocks: Smartsheet Expands its Capabilities for Marketers

The global Enterprise Collaboration Market size is expected to grow at 13% CAGR from $47.2 billion in 2021 to $85.8 billion by 2026. Smartsheet (Nasdaq: SMAR) continues to benefit from this high growth trend.

Thursday, July 7 – 582nd 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 582nd FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, July 7, 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!

Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later and Build a World-Class AI Startup from India: Raghu Ravinutala, CEO of Yellow.ai (Part 1)

Raghu has built an incredible AI startup from India with a global base of enterprise clients. Fabulous story!

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start by introducing our audience to yourself as well as the genesis of Yellow.ai.

Raghu Ravinutala: I’m the Co-Founder and CEO of Yellow.ai. Yellow.ai enables enterprises to drive automation on their customer experiences and employee experience by integrating a whole set of enterprise data and delivering phenomenal experiences that the companies can leverage for sales, marketing, HR, and IT automation.

Bootstrapping an E-Commerce Startup with a Paycheck to Exit: Jay Perkins, Co-founder of Kettlebell Kings (Part 5)

Sramana Mitra: You sold from bootstrapped directly to exit right?

Jay Perkins: Right. When you’re building a business, it’s not easy. You can live and die with the day-to-day. Something good happens and you’re on cloud nine. Then a customer gets a damaged product.

Sramana Mitra: What kind of exit price did you get for your business?

Jay Perkins: I’m not sure if I’m comfortable sharing.