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HOT TOPICS
- The Accelerator Conundrum
- The Startup Velocity Question
- Platform as a Service
- Man and Superman
- Web 3.0 = (4C + P + VS)
- The Future: End of Capitalism
- Capitalism 2.0
Bootstrapping to Inflection: Dan Stewart, CEO of Happy Grasshopper (Part 5)
Sramana Mitra: When you and I started working together and we were looking for the positioning, that was very much our conclusion. It’s okay to cater to people who are coming as inbound leads and are a fit for the technology and product. But from an outbound marketing point of view, you have to pick
Bootstrapping Using Services: James Kane, CEO of RWS (Part 4)
Sramana Mitra: As you identified that opportunity, what then did you do to execute on it? What changed? James Kane: We identified that the opportunity was significantly large here. We then reimagined the company to pursue a much larger opportunity. We moved the business from a small, sleepy college town in New York to Phoenix,
Bootstrapping to Inflection: Dan Stewart, CEO of Happy Grasshopper (Part 4)
Sramana Mitra: How many years was the CRM company? Dan Stewart: Three years. Sramana Mitra: How much did you sell it for and to whom? Dan Stewart: That’s all really confidential. It wasn’t a sexy exit. Our largest customer did not want us to sell to their competitors. They basically bought a license of the code and
Bootstrapping Using Services: James Kane, CEO of RWS (Part 3)
Sramana Mitra: What was specifically the customer acquisition strategy? Were you calling these people? Were you visiting these people? Was it direct? Was it channel? How did you sell? James Kane: The primary customer acquisition strategy was in-person sales at trade shows. The appliance retailing industry is cyclical. They have two buying seasons – in the late
Bootstrapping to Inflection: Dan Stewart, CEO of Happy Grasshopper (Part 3)
Sramana Mitra: Your background was in sales training and then construction. Where does CRM come from into this process? Dan Stewart: Maybe we should go back a little bit further. We all have our gifts and talents. I’ve always been fascinated with learning. I have a very diverse set of interests. Whenever a subject interests me,
Bootstrapping Using Services: James Kane, CEO of RWS (Part 2)
Sramana Mitra: After two years of piloting, it brings us to 2003. What happens next? James Kane: I decided that I had to get back to what my avocation in life was, which was the design and creation of software. I made the decision to sunset flying and to begin the search for a new
Bootstrapping to Inflection: Dan Stewart, CEO of Happy Grasshopper (Part 2)
Sramana Mitra: When you decided to shut that down, what was the next move? Dan Stewart: I went to work for one of my yellow pages clients. I became a construction manager of all things. That was a great experience because I got to sell millions of dollars worth of projects. In the process, I
Bootstrapping Using Services: James Kane, CEO of RWS (Part 1)
If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. We’re big believers in Bootstrapping Using Services, as you know. Here’s yet another story of an entrepreneur who has scaled to over $10 million in revenue using the method. Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were