Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped with a Paycheck to Techstars and Acquisition

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

In a previous story, we showed you how Jas Grewal bootstrapped his company CareSkore with a paycheck and then got into Y Combinator with a validated business. With Blueprint Registry, we show you the same strategy as executed by CEO Nevin Shetty to get into TechStars. Blueprint Registry was acquired by David’s Bridal Inc. in August of 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?

Nevin Shetty: I was born in Alabama but the first memory I have is of Saudi Arabia. I spent five years in Saudi Arabia. My dad is an aeronautical engineer. I grew up in an American compound in Riyadh and had an amazing childhood. Growing up, I remember my mom teaching English to some of the Saudi princes. I’d go over there and play with them. Then my dad moved and got a job at Boeing, so I moved to Seattle. Then I went to college at University of Washington at Seattle.

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Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later: Criteria CEO Josh Millet (Part 1)

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

Josh has bootstrapped Criteria to almost $5M in revenue before raising funding.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born and raised? What kind of background did you have?

Best of Bootstrapping: Discussing the Silicon Valley – India Corridor with Naren Gupta of Nexus Venture Partners

If you have been bootstrapping and think you are ready for investors, you need to learn how investors think. First, please study our free Bootstrapping course and the Investor Introductions page. Then start looking for entrepreneur – investor fit. Today I introduce you to Naren Gupta.

Naren Gupta is Co-founder of Nexus Venture Partners, a firm with an excellent track record of investing in the Silicon Valley – India corridor, but with a global market point of view. He is a veteran investor who is also strikingly polite and humble while sharing his insights, nuggets, and interesting wisdom. You can listen to a podcast of our conversation here or watch the roundtable video below:

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Best of Bootstrapping: Auction.com Bootstrapped to $180M in Online Real Estate

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

Co-founder Jeff Frieden bootstrapped Auction.com to about $180 million in revenue and profitability. Thereafter, he raised private equity financing and growth capital and ran a private company that was more than qualified to be a public Unicorn. The company had a legitimate revenue and profitability model that was scaling phenomenally well. Unlike many ‘funny money Unicorns’, this one was for real!

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

Jeff Frieden: I was born in Orange County, California and raised in Anaheim, California. It was right across the street from Disneyland. My mom and dad both worked at the Internal Revenue Service at Los Angeles after World War II.

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Best of Bootstrapping: Discussing Seed Rounds with Cindy Padnos, Illuminate Ventures

If you have been bootstrapping and think you are ready for investors, you need to learn how investors think. First, please study our free Bootstrapping course and the Investor Introductions page. Then, start looking for entrepreneur – investor fit. Today, I introduce you to Cindy Padnos, Illuminate Ventures.

Cindy Padnos, Founder and Managing Partner at Illuminate Ventures, discusses a topic that we’ve been highlighting recently: the need for multiple seed rounds as a way to bridge the Series A gap. You can listen to a podcast of our conversation here or watch the roundtable video below:

Sramana Mitra: Tell us about Illuminate Ventures. What is the focus of the firm? How big is the fund? What sized investments do you make?

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Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapping a Healthcare IT Company to $100M

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

Edifecs Founder CEO Sunny Singh built a very interesting healthcare IT company, overcoming serious challenges. Inspiring story of a bootstrapped success.

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?

Sunny Singh: Give or take, I’ve spent half my life in the US and half my life in India. I grew up in India and finished my undergraduate studies there. Then, I came to the US at the age of 23 to do a couple of Master’s programs. I did three jobs and then started Edifecs in 1996.

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Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapping to Exit Discussion with David Lambert, Right Side Capital Management

If you have been bootstrapping and think you are ready for investors, you need to learn how investors think. First, please study our free Bootstrapping course and the Investor Introductions page. Then, start looking for entrepreneur – investor fit. Today, I introduce you to David Lambert of Right Side Capital Management.

David Lambert is Managing Director at Right Side Capital Management, a firm that invests small chunks of capital in capital efficient ventures. The firm is very much in line with the Bootstrapping to Exit philosophy we’ve been discussing. You can listen to a podcast of our conversation here or watch the roundtable video below:

Sramana Mitra: Tell us about yourself. Tell us about Right Side. Let’s get acquainted.

David Lambert: I have predominantly been a career entrepreneur before starting Right Side Capital. I came out to the San Francisco Bay Area to go to Stanford in the late 80’s. A month after I graduated, I started my first company.

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Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapping Infinitely Virtual All The Way

President CEO Adam Stern used some equipment financing, and was considering some debt financing, to scale Infinitely Virtual. When we last spoke, he had not used any venture capital or private equity, but had built a substantial company. Read on to learn how.

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

Adam Stern: I was born in Los Angeles to parents who came to this country in their early teens. Neither of them had attended university or college. My grandfather was denied entrance into university in Hungary on account of being Jewish. I was, early on, told that I was the hope of the family to go to university and do what my grandfather and father could never do. I grew up in a middle-class household. We didn’t want for anything but we didn’t have anything extravagant either.

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